It's a question as old as time itself: what's in a name? Does your chosen handle define you, or is it merely shorthand for your true self? What if you were in a band named after a keyboard shortcut – would that hinder your success or not? Only time will tell if Leeds' Alt-J are foolhardy or fearless in their choice of moniker. They are the true darling of the indie scene in an age where every band who gets on a magazine cover is somebody's “darling”. Silly name and the endless machinations of the hype machine aside, these guys have been proving just how fearless they are for years now. In 2012 their auspicious debut album, An Awesome Wave, catapulted the trio from obscurity to the tips of everybody's tongues in a heartbeat. Can their follow up record keep that magic flowing or will they be crushed under the weight of expectations? With This Is All Yours, has lightning struck twice for these indie rock savants? Perhaps we should just let the music speak for itself.
Like many young acts coming out of
Britain today, Alt-J take a very synthetic approach to their own
sound. A keen eared listener can pick out dozens of influences if
they had the inclination and the time up their sleeve. They exist in
the bizarre space between Radiohead's ingrained eccentricity, MGMT's
electro-induced nightmares, and the stoned whimsy of My Morning
Jacket. And yet somehow all of this is underpinned by a twisted pop
sensibility. Yes, on paper that makes no sense at all, but neither does the
music of Alt-J, so in a roundabout way it kinda does. The real joy
comes from those moments where those elements combine to be greater
than the sum of their parts.
Gus Unger-Hamilton's malleable keyboard
lines are stitched between these tracks like thread through cloth,
oozing out through the little gaps. They weave their way through spaced out
folk, electro ruminations, and steaming piles of vintage rock. The
three part 'Nara' trilogy which anchors the album down contains
enough classic prog chic to furnish an entire crimson king.
Everything else might shift and changes around it but they remain a
constant amidst a sea of uncertainty. All of these ideas drifting in
and out of the record gives This Is All Yours a surreal,
ethereal quality. It gives off the impression that if you were to
turn your back it might just evaporate into thin air. This makes for
an album that is endlessly enigmatic and bewitching.
If you are unfamiliar with Alt-J and
their body of work then you might well think that this album's lead
single, 'Left Hand Free', is in some way indicative of the band's
sound. Everyone else will know that this simply is not the case. It's
a rugged and greasy slab of retro-rock that fits in perfectly with
the modern style. In fact it might well be the best song that the
Black Keys of Leon never wrote. Having that song lead people down
this very misleading path is a bold gambit, one that would have
completely fallen apart if the rest of the album wasn't so good. So
what if you're the strange sort of person who will skip straight to
the song you know? Well Alt-J are prepared for your ilk by putting a
flute-based instrumental track 'Garden of England' directly after
'Left Hand Free'. That'll teach you for skipping tracks, you vile
track skippers, you!
As if there was any doubt at this
point, but this album shows once and for all that Joe Newman's voice
is one of the band's greatest assets. It is a chameleonic instrument
that's equally at home buried under a tonne of AM-radio fuzz, leading
the charge over a horn section, accompanying a lone plucked guitar
string, or dueling with a Miley Cyrus vocal sample (yes, you read
that right). And it pays to listen closely to what he's singing about
too. Perhaps the line “Turn you inside out and lick you like a
crisp packet”(cribbed from the standout track 'Every Other
Freckle') might get your motor running. On the other hand, it might
leave you disgusted and dry retching. The fact that this (and plenty
of other goofy come-ons) are wrapped up inside a dense head-trip jam
gives you some idea of how deep this rabbit hole goes.
If you are content to have This Is
All Yours pottering away in the background then the music will
drift amicably on by. But if you decide to sharpen your focus you
will be amazed at the tiny moment of brilliance that pepper the
album. It's cool, it's savvy, and it's oh so hard to pin down. But
not only that but it becomes clear very quickly that This Is All
Yours is a genuine labour of love. Nothing this gentle,
intricate, and pristine could possibly have been made through major
label pushiness. It is untouched by big money's rough hands, leaving
the end result playful and restless like all of the greatest art this
side of the millennium. For once, the free spirits have won the day.
Rating: A-
Recommended tracks: Every Other Freckle, Nara, Left Hand Free
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