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We might've been calling Atoms For Peace a 'supergroup' for the past few months, given the inclusion of RHCP Flea on bassist and Back's drummer Joey Waronker, but it's important to remember that this is very much a Thom Yorke project.
After all, they were put together to play Yorke's solo album, The Eraser. If you're looking for something vastly different from what you've had from Yorke in the past, you're going to be severely disappointed by Amok.
The singer's haunting falsetto runs throughout the record, acting as one of the main defining characteristics and dictating the tone for the most part. But what you will find on Amok are fascinating experiments in combining Yorke's voice with glitchy, electro music that could easily be found on any number of recent dance music. From start to finish Amok is an interesting listen, if not always exciting or even pleasant.
'Before Your Very Eyes'
Amok's first track begins rather abruptly, with a jittery rhythm and scratchy guitar sounds opening the track with little ceremony. That said, the gentle clack of the hi-hats and the thud of the bass drum make for a surprisingly pleasant foundation for the track. As Yorke's voice enters the mix it seems clear that Amok is going to be a record defined largely by the frontman's voice. Haunting as ever, there's not a great deal of difference to be found betwen his voice here and on recent Radiohead records. But it is interesting to see it applied to electro music, and the contrast between the delicate vocals and the gritty bassline sounds is enjoyable.
'Default'
A wonderfully glitchy beat and rhythm that doesn't feel Thom Yorke-y at all, but rather could be found on records from any number of IDM artists at the moment. Again, the voice is very recognisable, but the music does some interesting things. Minimalist would be the wrong word, and even 'sparse' seems a little inaccurate, but the vocals and music start miles apart, being drawn together later in the song with the introduction of simple, soaring chords.
'Ingenue'
Three songs in and Amok feels like it's starting to get some backbone. Of course Yorke's voice does all it can to make the track seem as frail as possible, but there is an irresistible groove to this track that's hard to ignore. And it's the music that rises to the fore on this track, not the vocals, which seem to dance forlornly on the periphery, overshadowed by the beat and ambience.
Watch the video for 'Default' below
'Dropped'
Here's where the album seems to have found its energy. A skittering beat, hidden below jabbing synthetic notes, seems desperate to break through from the start of the track, and after about a minute and a half it does. The whole track rises, becomes more intense, explores the tensions between the instruments, before subsiding to allow the voice to come to the fore again. The basslines chugs along admirably at times, tugging and shifting the feel of the song.
'Unless'
Things take a slightly sinister turn on 'Unless'. "I couldn't kill it," Yorke murmurs like a man on his deathbed, considering his ultimate regrets. Synths spiral in and out of the mix throughout, punctuated by the beep and hums that are commonplace in current dance music. The bass, coupled with the frantic hi-hat and snare rims pattern, becomes almost hypnotic at times lulling the listener into a drowsy stupor.
'Stuck Together Pieces'
'Stuck Together Pieces' imediately feels like an attractive listen, but it is undeniably very similar to what's come before it on Amok. A lightly clattering beat, a fairly dense walking bassline, mumbled haunting vocals. But it must be said that all these things come together very nicely on this track. Understated and considered, there's a nervous energy in the contrast between voice and music.
'Judge Jury And Executioner'
Single 'Judge Jury And Excutioner' is arguably the heaviest listen on the record, being almost oppressive at times with ghostly backing vocals and Yorke's falsetto glittering between the bass tones and clapped beat. The track can feel very dark and is less than an easy listen. But then, you didn't buy Thom Yorke's new record to add it to your easy listening library.
Watch the video for 'Judge Jury And Executioner' below
'Reverse Running'
More glitchy electro for the album's penultimate track, avoiding any sort of linear groove, the music is tangled and knotted behind Yorke's voice which in this instance is very much the focal point of the track. There are undeniably moments when it feels like Yorke's voice is getting in the way of the rhythm or swing of the music - it's true of this track and it's true of the album. But by the same measure there are times when the contrast between the voice and music are the most interesting aspect.
'Amok'
The eponymous closer is the most instrumental track on the album, with only whispers of voice added to the mix until fairly late on, and even then the vocals feel more instrumental than elsewhere on Amok. As such it's actually an album highlight, with the music allowed to get on with its business of creating a whirling, mesmeric soundscape that comes across as electro music made by people with far more experience and insight into how to build music than others working in the same genre.
Amok is released in the UK on February 25
