Albums of the Week
Atoms for Peace
“Amok”
★★★
HAVING led Radiohead into dancier realms over the past few years, Thom Yorke is indulging his inner funkster even more with side project Atoms for Peace. Though calling it a Yorke side project may be misleading — his involvement may bring the band attention, but their debut revolves primarily around the contributions of his bandmates. The clattering beats provided by percussionist Mauro Refosco and drummer Joey Waronker propel opener “Before Your Very Eyes” until it almost locks into a trance-like state, while Flea (of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame) provides the bass riffs that make “Judge Jury and Executioner” an insidiously brilliant standout track.
There are times when Yorke’s vocals feel like little more than background wailing, but the melodies seem to be deliberately secondary, because “Amok” is fundamentally about spasmodic beats and sinister grooves. Dance to them if you dare.
Johnny Marr
“The Messenger”
★★★
SINCE the Smiths disbanded in 1987, Johnny Marr has worked with enough bands to make his résumé read like a phone book. But remarkably, “The Messenger” is his first full-fledged solo album, and it sounds like a rock journeyman finally finding a space to call his own.
Fittingly for someone so adored for his six-string skills, Marr’s guitar is most definitely the star, and it’s used to power striding and confident songs like “Upstarts” and the grunge-flavored “Sun and Moon.”
Perhaps inevitably, Marr’s weakness lies with his voice, which seems sheepish compared to the well-produced wall of sound that surrounds it. But there’s no doubt that “The Messenger” finds Marr cleverly playing to his strengths, and after such a storied career, he has certainly accrued many of them.
Downloads of the Week
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
“Sacrilege”
★★★ 1/2
INDIE rock? Please. The New York trio’s first new material in four years (taken from the album “Mosquito,” due in April) suggests that they have much bigger ambitions. Peppered by Karen O’s familiar shrieks, “Sacrilege” is sultry funk that builds into a fabulous gospel finale that’s more Deep South than Lower East Side. A radical reinvention, but all the more exciting for it.
Phoenix
“Entertainment”
★★
THE four Frenchmen return on April 23 with their new album “Bankrupt!” — and the first taste suggests they’re sticking to the slightly bland synth-pop formula that’s bought them great success. Singer Thomas Mars’ breathy, girlish vocals sit atop a galloping, new-wave thrum that’s both danceable and perplexingly boring at the same time.
Primal Scream
“2013”
★
THERE was a time when Primal Scream’s insurgent rock ’n’ roll rhetoric sounded vital, but, on their comeback single (from their new album, “More Light,” due May 6), singer Bobby Gillespie barks revolutionary clichés over a flaccid, sax-encrusted pass at the psychedelic rock they used to do so well. Disappointing.
Jimi Hendrix
“Hear My Train a Comin’ ”
★★★
“PEOPLE, Hell and Angels,” a collection of newly discovered Hendrix outtakes from the late 1960s, emerges next week, and this cut is an electrified Delta-blues workout topped off by one of those flatly astonishing solos that has the power to make grown men weep. Grab some Kleenex and take in Hendrix’s majesty.