Radiohead Mail Out Mysterious Leaflet to Fans

BY Alex HudsonPublished Apr 30, 2016

We've been hearing rumblings about a new Radiohead album for a while now, and it seems that the release of this hotly anticipated LP may be imminent. The band just mailed out some cryptic leaflets to fans, and some enterprising sleuths have found evidence to suggest that the album (or something relating to it) might be arriving this weekend.

The leaflet was mailed out to UK fans who have previously purchased products from Radiohead. It includes an abstract image along with the words, "Sing the song of sixpence that goes / Burn the Witch / We know where you live." The leaflet is embossed with Radiohead's bear logo. See it below. Significantly, the band have an unreleased song called "Burn the Witch" that dates back about a decade. The phrase "the song of sixpence" was included in some lyrics that singer Thom Yorke posted in 2007.

So what's the meaning of all this? As Stereogum points out, Reddit investigators have discovered that Walpurgisnacht — that is, "Witches' Night" — is a German folkloric event that falls on April 30 and May 1.

Additionally, the birding event International Dawn Chorus Day falls on May 1 this year. Fans might remember that Radiohead recently started companies called Dawn Chorus LLP and Dawnchoruss LTD. (Typically, Radiohead launch a new company in advance of a new album.) This adds to the evidence that the band might have a big announcement coming this weekend.

Whether or not all this speculation turns out to be true, it seems fair to assume that we won't have too much longer to wait until Radiohead's next album. Earlier this month, someone associated with the group's management said that the record would arrive in June.

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