Judge, Jury and Executioner

For the Radiohead song, see Hail to the Thief. For the episode of Medium, see Medium season 2 § ep23.

"Judge, Jury and Executioner" is a single by the rock band Atoms for Peace, a supergroup formed by the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke. The third single from their only album, Amok, it was released on iTunes on January 7, 2013 and on 12" vinyl on March 19.^[1]

"Judge, Jury and Executioner"
Single by Atoms for Peace
from the album Amok
B-side	"S.A.D."
Released	January 7, 2013 (2013-01-07) (download) March 19, 2013 (2013-03-19) (12")[1]
Genre	Experimental rock, electronic
Length	3:30
Label	XL
Songwriter(s)	Atoms for Peace
Producer(s)	Nigel Godrich
Atoms for Peace singles chronology
"Ingenue" (2013) "Judge, Jury and Executioner" (2013) "Before Your Very Eyes..." (2013)

History

Atoms for Peace first performed "Judge, Jury and Executioner" on their US tour in October 2009 and April 2010.^[2] It was released as a download on January 7, 2013, after its broadcast on BBC Radio 1.^[3] Fans who pre-ordered the album could download the song free. A music video by Tarik Barri was released simultaneously.^[1] The limited vinyl version of the single, with an accompanying b-side "S.A.D." was released on March 19, 2013.^[1] A live video of the song, recorded at Fuji Rock Festival, was released on the Atoms for Peace website.^[4]

The song shares its name with the subtitle of a Radiohead song, "Myxomatosis", released on the 2003 album Hail to the Thief. Yorke said this was accidental, and that he had forgotten he had used the phrase before.^[5]

Reception

"Judge, Jury and Executioner" received positive reviews and was likened to Yorke's other work. Will Hermes of Rolling Stone gave it 3.5 stars out of 5, praising "Yorke's swarming choral-style" and Flea's basslines, which he described as "a morph between Flea's instrument and Yorke's humming".^[6] Daniel Kreps of Spin depicted the earlier version of the song as "a dark, aggressive centerpiece among the post-Eraser material", whereas the final version was "mellower and more harmonious".^[2] Kia Makarechi of The Huffington Post wrote that the song, like Atoms for Peace, is "a sonic extension of Radiohead".^[7] David Greenwald of Billboard described the song as "a blend of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, with Yorke's voice floating over wordless background vocals and insistent percussion".^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Judge, Jury and Executioner"	3:30
2.	"S.A.D."	5:35
Total length:		9:05