Ill Wind (Radiohead song)

"Ill Wind"
Song by Radiohead
from the album A Moon Shaped Pool (special edition)
ReleasedSeptember 2016
GenreBossa nova
Length4:14
LabelXL
SongwriterRadiohead
ProducerNigel Godrich

"Ill Wind" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released a bonus track on the deluxe edition of their 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool.[1] It was added to streaming services in January 2019,[2] reaching number eight on the Billboard Alternative Digital Songs chart[3] and number 24 on the Hot Rock Songs chart.[4]

Composition

"Ill Wind" features a bossa nova rhythm, falsetto from Thom Yorke, and lyrics advising the listener to stay detached and unemotional to avoid summoning an "ill wind".[5][6] In the second half, layers of "icy" synthesisers enter.[1][7] DIY described it as "gloomy but spacious recording", and likened the synthesisers to the Stranger Things soundtrack.[8] Jon Pareles wrote: "More layers arrive, fluty sounds and buzzy ones, swallowing the song before prettily fading out. What seemed like a sanctuary was a trap."[5]

Reception

Critics likened the rhythm to Radiohead's 2001 single "Knives Out".[5][6] The NME critic Larry Bartleet wrote that the synthesisers "are so effective precisely because they sound so alien. As they tumble over each other in the song’s outro, they sound like freaky dismissal music from a church service in outer space."[9] He said the "swirls" of synthesisers, samba rhythm and "doom-laden" lyrics were found on other Moon Shaped Pool tracks, and speculated that Radiohead had excluded "Ill Wind" as "those bases have been covered elsewhere".[9] Caffrey wrote that "Ill Wind" would "stick out like a sore thumb had it been included".[10]

Charts

Chart (2019) Peak
position
France Charts (ACharts)[11] 40
UK Singles Sales Charts (OCC)[12] 50
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[13] 9

References

  1. 1 2 Kreps, Daniel (30 September 2016). "Hear Radiohead's icy Moon Shaped bonus cut 'Ill Wind'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  2. ↑ Yoo, Noah; Monroe, Jazz (2019-01-11). "Radiohead rarity 'Ill Wind' is now streaming: listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  3. ↑ "Radiohead – Chart History: Alternative Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Radiohead Chart History - Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Pareles, Jon (11 January 2019). "The playlist: Radiohead's glooming, and 13 more new songs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 Hogan, Marc (28 March 2019). "I might be wrong: every Radiohead song, ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  7. ↑ Helman, Peter (29 September 2016). "Radiohead – 'Ill Wind'". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "New Radiohead song 'Ill Wind' appears online". DIY. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  9. 1 2 Bartleet, Larry (30 September 2016). "Radiohead's 'Ill Wind' is a treat, but they were right to cut it from A Moon Shaped Pool – track review". NME. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  10. ↑ Caffrey, Dan (15 March 2021). Radiohead FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Most Famous Cult Band. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-4930-5397-1.
  11. ↑ "Ill Wind by Radiohead - Music Charts". acharts.co. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Official Singles Sales Chart 17 January 2019 - 23 January 2019". Official Charts. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  13. ↑ "Radiohead Chart History (Rock Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
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