Art-rock meets house music. The avant-garde coexists with the danceable. Serene vocals support apocalyptic lyrics. Such are the contrasts inherent to Amok.

Let’s face it: Thom Yorke can do whatever he wants. The Radiohead frontman boasts a critically heralded and commercially successful discography spanning more than 25 years and 10 studio albums, all delivered to a near-rabid fan base. In short, it’d take nothing less than a collaborative effort with Disney Channel starlet Selena Gomez to derail the alternative rock statesman’s career — and even that might receive praise.

So when Yorke announced Atoms for Peace — originally the backup band formed for the 2009 tour in support of his solo record The Eraser — would be releasing its debut album in 2013, any dropped jaws quickly returned to their original positions. After all, Yorke had shocked fans before throughout Radiohead’s transition from its initial record Pablo Honey to its latest album, The King of Limbs, and his eclectic career has seen him take myriad musical directions.

Atoms for Peace, a supergroup featuring Yorke, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, former Beck and R.E.M. drummer Joey Waronker, longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and percussionist Mauro Refosco, released Amok Monday. More reminiscent of The Eraser than The King of Limbs, Amok presents art rock-influenced house music (or perhaps house music-influenced art rock). An eclectic mix of buzzes, chirps and other onomatopoeic synths, all overlaid by Yorke’s distinctive warble, the record is not easy listening by any means.

Its melodies are — somewhat predictably — unpredictable, a by-product of Yorke’s influence and the tracks’ jam-based origin. The 8-bit-tinged “Default” could have easily soundtracked a level of Super Mario World, while “Reverse Running” transitions from guitar grooves to a buzzing electronic wall of sound.

Red Hot Chili Peppers fans looking for Flea’s signature sound won’t find it here. His wandering, soulful rhythms are relegated to the background and all but buried behind heavy layers of synth. However, his brief appearances at the album’s forefront, most notably on “Before Your Very Eyes” and “Unless,” remind listeners why Yorke chose to collaborate with the bassist, ranked No. 2 all time by Rolling Stone.

Also notable throughout the record are Yorke’s vocals. The frontman’s characteristic wailing takes on a decidedly different tone in his latest release. In contrast to his work with Radiohead, on Amok, Yorke sounds far less likely to keel over out of sheer angst and disillusionment. On “Ingenue,” one of the album’s strongest tracks, his falsetto sounds almost serene.

However, fans shouldn’t worry. The man who turned cathartic self-loathing into an art form still has more than his fair share of cryptically biting lyrics. On “Judge Jury and Executioner,” it becomes abundantly clear Yorke hasn’t had a change of heart: “Thin persecutors/ Your twisted whispers/ A horned reptile that is crawled upon the earth.”

Though the incongruity between Yorke’s vocals and his vaguely sinister lyrical themes helps characterize Amok, other contrasting elements truly define the album. Its relentless synthesizers often overshadow its collection of talented instrumentalists. The title track’s claps and thumping bass highlight production work at odds with much of Radiohead’s discography. And the fact that the notoriously antisocial Yorke is producing songs just shy of danceable electronic music is fairly mind-boggling. All in all, Amok is often difficult to wrap one’s head around.

At first listen, it’s hard to escape thinking of Amok as a Yorke vanity project. After all, the frontman’s influence on the record’s sound is far more overt than his bandmates’. Yet the distinguishable touches of Flea, Waronker and Refosco make the album more than just a follow-up to The Eraser.

Thanks to his industry clout and individual talent, Yorke has gathered a collective capable of producing a still-entertaining thinking man’s record, one far different than anything offered by his previous work.

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