[dropcap]I[/dropcap]’ve been a fan of Alt-J since 2012, when my English friend showed me a nicely soundtracked clip of morphing faces on YouTube that turned out to be the music video for “Matilda”. We’ve had a fun, long and arduous journey with Alt-J since then. Over the last five years, Alt-J have had two Number One albums in the UK, won a Mercury Prize, and toured the world. In some weird rewards system, I received a signed copy of An Awesome Wave because I did well in my drama coursework at age 16 and celebrated by drinking cider and throwing up to the ambient soundtrack of “Breezeblocks”.
So when Alt-J popped up on YouTube with a new track titled “3WW”, I was excited for my new ‘angsty walking like I have purpose while wearing sunglasses so no one can see that I’m actually terrified of these crowds and am listening to ambient yet inspirational tracks to get through the day’ playlist. With a new album to be released June 2nd, Tn2 Magazine rounds up the need to know facts and what to expect from Alt-J’s long awaited new release Relaxer.
What We’ve Heard So Far:
“3WW” is a sultry success. With a pastoral vibe instrumentally and lyrically, Gus Unger-Hamilton’s vocals flow perfectly into lead singer Joe Newman’s with what seems to be the sound of snoring sampled and worked into the matter of the song. I defy you to hear “Oh, these three worn words” after a few pints and not scream along. The underlying hints of a dark seduction, the discordant synth and electronic production introduced at the beginning, return with a vengeance after the first celebratory chorus. The middle section of “3WW” illustrates that Alt-J are a truly modern and multi-faceted production. With the “smell of sex” snarled by Newman, the song takes a turn, cutting through the innocence built in the first three minutes to make a decisively sensual atmosphere. To be honest, if you can’t imagine having sex with someone insanely attractive during Ellie Roswell’s growling bridge, I don’t know what song will do it for you.
For the record, the music video for “In Cold Blood” has an intense beginning and ending that completely flies in the face of the song. This song is pretty classic Alt-J. We begin with a lovely description of a pool party, lots of alcohol; we start talking about Caspian’s killer and the fact that California is rotting and dying; a lifeless back floats to the top of the pool. The happy-chappys hit a climax repeating the words “pool” and “killer” in an always delightful Alt-J manner before ending this slog with the final, titular line “in cold blood”. A cold and bloodless Truman Capote may demand licensing rights, but I remain thoroughly unimpressed by this song: a simple lyrical retelling of the murderous Left Hand Free music video with an uninventive musical accompaniment.
Smooth, alluring and hypnotic, “Adeline” is musical Xanax. Aptly for an album titled Relaxer, you fall into “Adeline” slowly but surely, and by the end come to peace with your past by muttering “I wish you well,” into your blanket while you cry over that ex that didn’t like your profile picture. Like the incongruous sample of Miley Cyrus in “Hunger of the Pines”, samples that at first seem exceptionally odd then somehow start to work is what makes Alt-J. For “Adeline”, we have Brendan Behan’s “Auld Triangle” four minutes into the song which lead to a lengthy discussion on the significance of the triangle to Alt-J.
What to Expect:
Relaxer is going to be both loved and hated. Expect references to the fall of California, murder, love, and numerous pleas from Newman to “Kiss me”. Having listened to every song and sample available – including playing the game Alt-J designed to accompany the album – I can confirm the album will contain songs that you could have sex to while tripping on psychedelics. There will be edgy and pretentious moments on this new album, including those bizarre samples and harmonies we’ve come to expect from Alt-J. We can joke, we can ridicule, but Alt-J are making minimalist postmodern music that is exceptionally complex. They warrant attention and admiration and I wait in anticipation for their new chapter.
