The student news site of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.

Scot Scoop News

The student news site of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.

Scot Scoop News

The student news site of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.

Scot Scoop News

Thom Yorke side project Atoms for Peace releases debut LP

Amok+is+the+debut+LP+from+Atoms+For+Peace
Amok is the debut LP from Atoms For Peace

To label Atoms for Peace as a Thom Yorke side project may be slightly misleading. While the Radiohead frontman is undoubtedly the heart of the group, which consists of Yorke, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker of Beck, and R.E.M, and renowned Brazilian percussionist Mauro Refosco, Yorke does not overshadow his star studded group mates.

Their debut LP Amok is a polished example of what electropop can be with an A-list cast and production.

Its stuttering rhythms and layered glitches lie behind artfully fuzzy synths and Yorke’s woozy vocals. Tracks like ‘Default,’ and ‘Judge, Jury, Executioner’ see both the cold, distant sonics of laptop-produced sounds and the warm organic feel added by Flea and Refosco’s live instrumentation.

Throughout Amok, the band walks the line of glitchy electropop and more organic arrangements. Guitars spring over intricate kicks and claps while little ambient electronic elements stutter into the distance.

The unifying element between the tracks is Yorke’s hazy falsetto easing in and out of each track.

The Radiohead frontman backs off on this record, relying on the higher end of his vocal range and giving the tracks a more ethereal feel to them, as opposed to the raw vulnerability seen in his solo work on Eraser.

Junior Amelia Tupou said of Amok, “I love Radiohead so when I heard Thom Yorke on this album I knew I would like it.”

The album is a slick demonstration of well executed electronic music with the soul of fuller instrumentation.

The album is out via XL Recordings.

Amok is the debut LP from Atoms For Peace
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The student news site of Carlmont High School in Belmont, California.
Thom Yorke side project Atoms for Peace releases debut LP