Thom Yorke's "other" band officially has a name. The Radiohead frontman has announced that his Flea-assisted side project [] will be known as Atoms for Peace.
"Hope you like the name," Yorke wrote on the Radiohead blog. "It seemed bleedin' obvious." When the band first played last October, they were generally perceived as Thom Yorke and Friends, or at best, Thom Yorke and Flea. When named in the lineup for this year's Coachella festival, they were billed under the name ????. Consisting of Yorke, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, producer Nigel Godrich on keyboards, and session percussionists Joey Waronker and Mauro Refosco, the group has mostly played songs from Yorke's 2006 solo album, The Eraser.
Atoms for Peace is, in fact, the name of a song on that album, but the phrase has an earlier origin. It was the title of a 1953 speech by Dwight Eisenhower, in which the former US president announced plans to distribute tools to generate nuclear energy. Atoms for Peace became the label for that programme, and eventually the nickname for the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency.
Yorke's naming of the band indicates that they may stick around. Four years since the surprise announcement of The Eraser, another solo album seems likely. While Radiohead are currently completing their eighth LP, drummer Phil Selway found the time for his own solo effort, due later this year.
For the time being, however, Atoms for Peace exist only as a live act. Yorke has announced nine US dates in April, ending at the Coachella festival. Atoms for Peace have yet to play any UK gigs.
