Weird Fishes/Arpeggi – Emily Ingram
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q888PBtrWc0&w=740&h=422]
2007 saw the digital, pay-what-you-like release of In Rainbows: an album that revolutionised the independent music industry in more ways than one. Whilst it spelled the dawn of modern musical accessibility for all, it has also been deemed a modern masterpiece, a record in which traditional and new-age sounds collide seamlessly. One song that truly stands out is the oddly-named Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, a lyrically poignant and musically brilliant work that I firmly believe to be one of the bands very finest.
Kicked off by a wonderfully passionate vocal quirk from Yorke, the song quickly transcends into musical bliss; various layers of delicate, tremulous sound form as the band coax waves of simplistic percussion and cyclical guitar together, harmoniously. The dreamy lyrical echoes that follow- “in the deepest ocean/the bottom of the sea/your eyes/ they turn me“- prove utterly fitting, as the potent effect of the music makes the listener feel as if they are immersed in glorious, rippling pools. In fact, some of Yorke’s best and, in my view, most underrated lyrics are formed here, through his powerful yet fragile vocal tones: “everybody leaves/if they get the chance”. In other words, we receive a gentle reminder that nothing is permanent, and as always, he and the rest of the group strive to promote subtly emotive messages that strike a deep chord within.
Shockingly, this song rarely makes the ‘Top 10’ and ‘best of’ lists that are so often plucked from the huge back catalogue of the infamous group. Thus, I’ve chosen it for our own collection, as I class it as one of their most hard-hitting, skilful, yet beautiful creations.