Wikipedia

Amok(Atoms for Peace album)

Amokis the only album by the rock bandAtoms for Peace,released on February 25, 2013 byXL Recordings.It features theRadioheadsingerThom Yorke(vocals, keyboards,programmingand guitars), the Radiohead producerNigel Godrich(production and programming), theRed Hot Chili PeppersbassistFlea,the drummerJoey Waronkerand the percussionistMauro Refosco.It combines electronic and live instrumentation.

Amok
Studio albumby
Atoms for Peace
ReleasedFebruary 25, 2013(2013-02-25)
Recorded2010–2012
Genre
Length44:35
LabelXL
ProducerNigel Godrich
SinglesfromAmok
  1. "Default"
    Released: September 10, 2012
  2. "Ingenue"
    Released: February 25, 2013
  3. "Judge, Jury and Executioner"
    Released: March 11, 2013
  4. "Before Your Very Eyes..."
    Released: July 1, 2013

Yorke formed Atoms for Peace in 2009 to perform songs from his first solo album,The Eraser(2006). After the tour ended, the band spent three daysjammingand recording in Los Angeles. Yorke and Godrich edited and arranged the recordings over two years, combining them with Yorke's electronic music.

Four singles were released: "Default","Ingenue ","Judge, Jury and Executioner"and" Before Your Very Eyes ", with music videos for" Ingenue "and" Before Your Very Eyes ".Amokreached the top ten in several countries, including the UK, US and Japan. It received generally favourable reviews, though some critics found it too similar to Yorke's solo work. It was followed by an international tour.

Background and recording

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Godrich (left), Waronker (centre) and Flea (right) performing with Atoms for Peace in 2013

TheRadioheadsongwriterThom YorkeformedAtoms for Peacein 2009 to perform songs from his first solo album,The Eraser(2006). The band comprises Yorke, the Radiohead producerNigel Godrich,the bassistFleaof theRed Hot Chili Peppers,the drummerJoey Waronkerand the percussionistMauro Refosco.[2]After the tour ended in 2010, they spent three daysjammingand recording original material in a Los Angeles studio. They bonded over a shared love ofafrobeat,such as the music ofFela Kuti.[3]

Describing his role in the sessions as "conducting", Yorke would show the band electronic music he had created and they would recreate it with live instruments. He said: "The music I do on my laptop is so angular. When you get people to play like that, it's so peculiar... One of the things we were most excited about was ending up with a record where you weren't quite sure where the human starts and the machine ends."[3]Yorke and Godrich edited and arranged the recordings over two years, combining them with Yorke's electronic music.[3]

Promotion and release

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Amokwas released on February 25, 2013 byXL Recordings.[4]The first single, "Default",was released as adownloadon September 10, 2012.[5]"Judge, Jury and Executioner",was released as a download on January 7, 2013 and on vinyl on March 19.[6]"Before Your Very Eyes" was released as the third single on July 1.[7]On February 18,Amokwas made available tostreamfrom the Atoms for Peace website.[8]

A music video for "Ingenue" was released viaYouTubeon February 28, 2013. It was directed byGarth Jenningsand choreographed byWayne McGregor,who both had worked with Yorke on the video for the 2011 Radiohead song "Lotus Flower".[9]On October 17, a video for "Before Your Very Eyes" was released, directed by Andrew Thomas Huang.[10]Amokwas followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan.[11]

Amokreached the top ten in several countries, including the UK, US and Japan. In the US, it was beaten to the number-one spot byBruno Mars's albumUnorthodox Jukebox.Yorke blamed anAmazonpromotion selling the Mars album for $1.99, and said: "Amazon fucks with us every time. They undercut us."[12]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[13]
Metacritic76/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
The A.V. ClubA−[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB[17]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[19]
Los Angeles Times[20]
NME8/10[21]
Pitchfork6.9/10[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Spin6/10[24]

On the review aggregate siteMetacritic,Amokhas a score of 76 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[14]Alexis PetridisofThe Guardianwrote that it was technically "hugely impressive... its sound is rich and deep, full of intriguing shifts and contrasts... WhenAmokworks, the results are spectacular. "However, he felt" the painstaking process used to create it may have assumed a greater importance than the business of actually writing songs ".[18]

Sputnikmusicfound thatAmoksounded like a Yorke solo album, but that "the average listener might find something to enjoy within the dense, layered folds".[25]Slantwas disappointed by the similarity to Yorke's work considering the diverse band members, and concluded thatAmokwas "essentially a collection of agile, minimalist rock songs with a handful of interesting but ultimately superficial electronica flourishes".[26]Pitchforkwrote that whileAmokwas more "colourful and layered" thanThe Eraser,it felt "strangely static and contained, giving a perpetual sense of jogging in place".[22]

In a retrospective piece for its 10th anniversary, theStereogumwriter Ryan Leas argued thatAmokhad failed to distinguish itself, and could be viewed as Yorke's second solo album or a continuation of Radiohead's 2011 albumThe King of Limbs.He wrote: "For all that went into itAmokwas mostly a collection of very good Yorke solo songs — not so much a bold evolution... Ten years on, it feels as if the 'beginning' Yorke once saw in Atoms For Peace's debut will in fact become a one-off oddity. "He suggested that Yorke's later projectthe Smilepresented a truer development of his work.[27]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Atoms for Peace

No.TitleLength
1."Before Your Very Eyes..."5:47
2."Default"5:15
3."Ingenue"4:30
4."Dropped"4:57
5."Unless"4:40
6."Stuck Together Pieces"5:28
7."Judge, Jury and Executioner"3:28
8."Reverse Running"5:06
9."Amok"5:24
Total length:44:35

Personnel

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Chart positions

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References

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  1. ^Wright, Dusty(22 March 2013)."Best of March Music -- Rock, Country & Jazz".The Huffington Post.Retrieved25 August2015.
  2. ^Lea, Tom (28 January 2013)."A new career in a new town: Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich open Pandora's box and run amok as Atoms for Peace".Fact.Retrieved2 May2015.
  3. ^abcFricke, David(5 November 2012)."Q&A: Thom Yorke on Atoms for Peace's 'mechanistic' new album".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon 27 June 2014.Retrieved18 February2013.
  4. ^"Atoms for Peace Pick Release Date for Debut Album".Rolling Stone.5 November 2012.Retrieved11 November2012.
  5. ^Pelly, Jenn (26 September 2012)."Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace Detail Vinyl Release of Debut Single".Pitchfork.Retrieved11 November2012.
  6. ^Battan, Carrie and Amy Phillips (7 January 2013)."Listen/Watch: New Single From Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace:" Judge Jury and Executioner "".Pitchfork.Retrieved27 February2013.
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  9. ^Snapes, Laura (28 February 2013)."Watch Thom Yorke dance in Atoms for Peace's video for 'Ingenue'".Pitchfork.Retrieved28 February2013.
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  14. ^ab"Reviews for Amok by Atoms for Peace".Metacritic.Retrieved22 February2013.
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  17. ^Anderson, Kyle (20 March 2013)."Atoms For Peace".Entertainment Weekly.Retrieved6 May2019.
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  20. ^Roberts, Randall (25 February 2013)."Pop album review: Atoms for Peace's 'Amok' a magnetic ride".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved6 May2019.
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  22. ^abBerman, Stuart (25 February 2013)."Atoms for Peace: AMOK".Pitchfork.Retrieved25 February2013.
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  24. ^Powell, Mike (25 February 2013)."Atoms for Peace, 'Amok' (XL)".Spin.Retrieved6 May2019.
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