The first time I saw Radiohead "Creep" had just hit big, so I go back a long way with them. But except for pockets of interest here and there, and despite seeing em live maybe a half dozen times, as late as last year, I have remained essentially indifferent to the band. A song, even an album, here and there, but ever since giving OK Computer a loud nolle prosequi, I have spent my career disagreeing with the band. I thought they kinda sucked at the Prudential Center.
But Thom Yorke solo is different.
Not for nothing but 2006's The Eraser was really really good and I raved about it (actually, I wasn't writing at the time but take my word for it) and really loved the songs that were popping up over the last coupla years. I missed them when they played here but that was because it was Roseland and cmon man, IT WAS ROSELAND.
But I am going to the LPR DJ gig (Thom and Nigel Godrich are doing the honors) next month and I have been streaming AMOK on Pitchfork and I must admit, it is awesome. Part of it is that I am getting over my difficulty with Thom's whinge but the rest of it is that whoever Joey Waronker of Beck & R.E.M. (drums) and instrumentalist Mauro Refosco (percussion). The drums are just incredible. The beats don't overwhelm you and don't always move you along. It is like the drums are there to sink you in deeper and watch you slip and slide in the quicksand.
The trick is, usually a band lets the drums keep the band together but with a bassist as good as Flea on board the percussion is free to do other weird things and here the band takes full advantage of the situation. I've only listened to it all the way though once but I would be surprised if this isn't a big album for them. It is tons better than the lame King Of Limbs album.
http://pitchfork.com/news/49590-stream-the-atoms-for-peace-album-amok-now/
Grade: B+