When a band reaches a certain size, what happens in the dead space between records becomes almost as important to some as the records themselves. Alt-J have, since wrapping things up on their debut, ‘An Awesome Wave’, lost a member - bassist Gwil Sainsbury - and let the clock run just long enough for fear to replace anticipation among some quick-fix fans.
‘This Is All Yours’ nonchalantly waves away the ‘Mercury curse’ nonsense, broadening the band’s horizons in certain senses while continuing a slavish devotion to slow-burn melodies. It teeters on the prog precipice in a similar manner to its predecessor, but its colours are richer, its peaks more sharply defined thanks to the extra time required to seek them out.
The last 45 seconds or so of Arrival In Nara - the first of three songs to namecheck the Japanese city - are carried aloft by a gorgeous, understated melody that’s almost six minutes in coming after the record’s early experiments. It’s worth the wait and the sort of gently affecting moment that ‘This Is All Yours’ deals in.
There is depth to each song and layers of sound to unravel, but this isn’t an album to ‘appreciate’, it’s one to enjoy. Alt-J seem very aware of that. Spinning a Miley Cyrus sample into an atmospheric hook is one thing, but throughout there’s a sense that they’re smiling.
Every Other Freckle is gleefully filthy in an Alt-J kind of way, a Prince song for people who can’t just come out and say it. “I want to turn you inside out and lick you like a crisp packet,” is the come on line to end all come on lines for uni hall romantics, while Left Hand Free kicks in a fashion that’s less cerebral in its approach than we’ve seen previously.
There are moments when things spiral away - sections of Intro, the sequel to Bloodflood and the half-baked early Floydisms of Garden of England - but the rest of the album is so keenly observed, so meticulous in its preparation and performance that they don’t register in a way that knocks ‘This Is All Yours’ out of its stride. Alt-J are big now, but they’re still clever.
Alt J Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue September 23 2014 - BRIGHTON Centre
Wed September 24 2014 - LONDON Alexandra Palace
Sat September 27 2014 - DUBLIN 3Arena
Sat January 24 2015 - LONDON O2 Arena
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