In an industry riddled with imitators and conformists, Radiohead has become one of the world's most respected rock bands by defying convention. While most groups court fame, the British quintet has aggressively avoided it. Tours are few and far between. The bulk of the band's songs are anything but radio-friendly and their albums arrive in stores according to the demands of five exacting musicians, not the marketplace.

We haven't heard anything new from Radiohead in three years, and now the fiercely independent band has embarked on a concert tour with no product to sell and a set list stuffed with never-heard material written for an album that won't be out until 2007. Perhaps most surprising (or not, considering this is Radiohead), is that after half a decade of techno-based adventures the group's new tunes sound remarkably settled. Counterintuitive as it seems, that's a stretch for this band.

I heard seven new songs before deadline required an early departure, and each of them was - at least compared to the rest of the post-millennial Radiohead canon - rooted in straightforward structures annd moods. Guitar strings were plucked on "Arpeggi" and "Nude." Piano keys were stroked on `"Videotape." Songs began and ended without cracking open in the middle and spilling their guts, or falling off the edge of the earth. Across the board, the chaotic subtext and shifting dynamics of Kid A, Amnesiac, and (to a lesser extent) Hail to the Thief were replaced with more modest arrangements and less toxic energy. One can only surmise that, barring major revisions, the forthcoming album will navigate a less tortured landscape than Radiohead has recently explored.