atoms for peace - amok

Atoms for Peace

Amok
XL; 2013

3.9 out of 5

While many people thought this was going to be Thom Yorke's dance album AMOK is a much deeper and visceral listen than that would imply. The songwriting here is pretty impressive and Thom Yorke's voice has never been more present. The album as a whole has a lot of surprising warmth and delicate beauty nestled between the beats and the laptop bleeps and blips.

The album opens with "Before your very eyes" a clattering of sampled rhythms and electric guitar to a rather light-hearted Yorke. "Judge Jury Executioner" provides a great balance between harmonized vocals and a deep bass beat. It is a haunting  number which has an upward kinetic energy that is one of the most sonically impressive tracks on the album. However, it is Yorke's singing and guitar playing that make the song work. This song was supposedly written by the whole band! Fourth song "Dropped" is probably the best song on "Amok". It is dark, twisted and has a beautifully cynical York vocal which echoes back to something you would hear with radiohead. Lots of phasing from right to left with a muffled techno beat that is begging to be played on a nice sound system. The song "Stuck together pieces" could be a subtitle for the album and is a upbeat instrumental that focuses on Flea's amazing bass work. AMOK is a genuinely inventive and innovative album and even though does not hold up to radiohead is something that is worth listening to.

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