We interrupt your regularly scheduled Fugazi post for tonight’s purchase.

Any new Radiohead-related release is always treated with a heavily stirred mix of eagerness and dread. One the one hand, Radiohead (or Thom solo) has never released anything that was anything less than stunning (Pablo Honey excepting, and I’ll still fight anyone who knocks Hail to the Thief). But every time they release any new material, pressing play is always preceded by a moment of, “what if this is it? What if their talent has run out? What if this is the one where Thom gets too out there?” And given that two of my favorite releases of the two past years were the creeping, skittering King of Limbs and Nigel Godrich’s moody, grooving Ultraísta, my hopes for Amok were high. So high in fact that I purchased the record without being fully convinced that it was worth the money beforehand.

But it assuredly is worth the money. Thom and Nigel are in top form here, and so are their new friends (Flea! You guys! It’s Flea!). Thom described it as a sort of sequel to 2006’s The Eraser, but that is a huge undersell. Much of The Eraser’s success was built upon dark loops that would add melodies or glitches here and there between phrases of Yorke’s permanently paranoid croon. On Amok, the entire band is playing the same game. A drum figure or synth line might remain through the song, but the players add or subtract themselves in generous yet restrained portions (i.e. the pickup on the incredible Dropped). Flea is perhaps the most effective in this–whenever he begins to play (none of his slapping, thankfully), it catches your ear without demanding your attention. Likewise, the programmed beats and drums dance around eachother in beautiful form, sometimes running figure eights around the other. This gentle, tight songcraft is Amok’s strongest point. A close second is hearing another excellent group of musicians aid Thom in bringing his inimitable songwriting to life. In all, Amok is a proud addition to the Radiohead family; an excellent record marked with flawless songwriting, composition, production, and playing.