Radiohead: five reasons why their ninth album could arrive any day now

After 2015 proved to be 12 whole months of pure build-up, it seems that 2016 will finally see a load of long-awaited albums make it to release.

Reports suggest that Rihanna’s Anti edges ever closer, there’s a release date in place for Kanye West’s SWISH, and now one of Britain’s biggest and most highly acclaimed bands look like they’re back: Radiohead.

While Thom Yorke and bandmates have kept themselves busy in the five years (yes, five) since The King of Limbs slinked out online – Yorke twiddled around with Atoms for Peace and a second solo album, while Jonny Greenwood churned out more scores for filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson – what fans really want is a full-blooded comeback.

Now the signs are all in place that Radiohead might have an exciting year ahead – here are five indicators that a new album could be just days away from release.

1) They know how to do surprise albums

The band have form when it comes to sneaking a full LP on the unsuspecting masses. Way before ‘doing a Beyonce’ was a thing, they famously dished up In Rainbows for immediate purchase on a ‘pay-what-you-want’ basis. The King of Limbs was announced with just five days’ notice – and was put out a day early anyway to keep everyone on their toes.

2) They’ve just registered a new company

While gloriously unpredictable, these surprise releases do have a pattern. Radiohead registered a new company shortly before dropping each of those albums – Xurbia Xendless Ltd for In Rainbows, and Ticker Tape Ltd for The King of Limbs – and now they’ve registered Dawn Chorus LLP. Something’s afoot.

3) They’ve definitely been in the studio

We know, too, that they’ve been recording – composer Robert Ziegler shared some now-deleted photos on Twitter of the group in the studio, while their longtime producer Nigel Godrich shared a studio pic of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood back in December 2014.

4) They released that brilliant rejected Spectre song

We’ve recently had new music from them as well – a clear indication that the band were getting themselves back into action was the surprise release of their Spectre theme song on Christmas day.

While it’s unlikely to end up on the new record, it would be a real treat to hear it performed on those live dates.

5) Wait, live dates?