Atoms For Peace

At first listen, it would be easy to confuse Atoms For Peace with Radiohead, but with the band’s debut album, Amok, Atoms for Peace has pushed its sound into a new realm that will appeal to listeners beyond just Radiohead fans.

Atoms For Peace is comprised of an all-star cast, including Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich from Radiohead, along with Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Joey Waronker of Beck and R.E.M., and Brazilian percussionist Mauro Refosco. Suffice it to say, it is a super group. Although the influence of Yorke and Godrich predominate, each member brings something to the table.

Amok’s first track, “Before Your Very Eyes…,” starts off with an upbeat, funky guitar riff with Yorke’s high, drawn-out, almost whiney voice sliding over the top and contrasting with the lively rhythm. This contrast of Yorke’s liquid vocals and the halting, throbbing music is common throughout Amok.

It is easy to see Flea’s funky influence on tracks like “Before Your Very Eyes…” and “Stuck Together Pieces.” In the latter of these two, Flea, lays down a bassline that has a timing that is fluidly mismatched with Yorke’s vocals. Flea has added a little playfulness to this very cohesive album, but the band could have better capitalized on that to create a more intriguing sound.

Born out of Thom Yorke’s solo album, The Erasure, Amok is the clash of acoustic and electronic music. A lot of the sound came from trying to interpret electronic music acoustically and then mixing that back in with the electronics to create a dark, sometimes pulsing, sometimes floating sound.