Radiohead announced on their website today that they will release the digital version of their eighth album The King of Limbs this weekend. The album can be pre-ordered on their site in both digital and physical formats, but either way a download of the album will be made available on Saturday.
The group is calling The King of Limbs a "newspaper album," and will be bundling physical editions of the set with two clear 10-inch vinyl records, a CD and an elaborate package including several large sheets of artwork, 625 small pieces of artwork and a plastic sleeve. This edition will not be shipped until May 9th.
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Though Radiohead's surprise announcement of this new record mirrors the release of their previous album In Rainbows, the band will not be asking fans to name their own price for downloads this time around. The digital version will be priced at $9 for MP3 and $14 for lossless WAV files, and the physical version will be sold for $48 (including postage) with MP3s and $53 with WAVs.
The King of Limbs will also have a more traditional release on CD and 12-inch vinyl with XL Recordings and TBD Records on March 28th. The album will also be available as a download at all major digital retailers at this time.
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Radiohead have not yet released any information about The King of Limbs' contents, though they have confirmed that their longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich produced the record.
Photo by Andy Sheppard/Redferns