Radiohead’s In Rainbows discbox was finally released on Monday, and the new tracks from the bonus CD have now filtered through to teh internets, where they are available for download. The tracklist is as follows:

01 Mk 1
02 Down Is The New Up
03 Go Slowly
04 Mk 2
05 Last Flowers
06 Up On The Ladder
07 Bangers & Mash
08 4 Minute Warning

The eight new songs, road tested in recent live shows, pretty much pick up where In Rainbows left off. The stand-out track, ‘Down Is The New Up’, features Thom Yorke beatboxing over a lean piano riff and swelling string crescendos before unleashing a Prince-like falsetto over the funky outro. Lacking the drums of the live version, ‘Go Slowly’ is driven by woozy guitar lines and a battery of electronic effects, a companion piece to In Rainbows‘ ‘Reckoner’. The remaining tracks – some, like ‘Mk 1’ and ‘Mk 2’, no more than cutting room scraps – are hit and miss. But, this being Radiohead, there are enough interesting things going on in the mix to justify repeated listens. Once, again, digital technology is used to excellent effect. Halfway into ‘Up On The Ladder’, an unremarkable guitar riff is torn apart in a hail of digital static. At the other end of the spectrum, ‘Bangers & Mash’ rocks harder than anything the band has waxed since ‘2+2=5’. Propelled by Phil Selwood’s machine-perfect drumming and a mean, angular Jonny Greenwood guitar riff, the track is almost danceable, with Yorke wailing behind the maelstrom: ‘Whatever turns you on / Whatever gets you off / Chief of police / Vice-chancellor’.

Considering these tracks are basically cut-offs from In Rainbows, it’s not surprising that most are of uneven quality. But given a choice between the new Coldplay or Oasis album and a handful of new Radiohead B-sides, I’d take the latter any day of the week.