Since their visual emergence back in 2013, Alt-J have appeared doomed by an apparent dichotomy between their ‘biology student’ image and the music they make. Stories about how taking shrooms inspired the songwriting that culminated in the Mercury Award winning An Awesome Wave didn’t seem to conform to the very ordinary appearances of the band members. Even Bryan Ferry was jumping on the derivative bandwagon, and eventually it became too much. Alt-J’s lead singer Joe Newman stopped taking interviews, and has only recently started again accepting conversations with the media. When your initial image was simply the delta symbol on a keyboard, four guys who look ‘one step from the dole queue’ obviously isn’t what was expected.
Two years down the line and one would hope that the anti-hype around the band’s image would have died down, and largely it seems to have least been stemmed. But when there’s an opportunity to try and spice up the world of Alt-J, it seems like the media are only too happy to embellish. Case in point was the departure of bassist and founding member Gwil Sainsbury, who left in January of this year, amicably, due to the a dislike of life on the road. Articles were subsequently published that described Sainsbury as the ‘silent leader,’ with his departure coined as ‘almost fatal.’ A bit of drama, admittedly in this case probably unintentionally, added to a situation that has since been described by drummer Thom Green as giving the band ‘perspective’ and making them ‘realize just how much we all wanted to keep doing this.’ Alt-J keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton has also since stated that no one was sure where the ‘silent leader’ tag had come from, and that the dynamic of the band had not changed since Sainsbury’s departure. Alt-J refused to be ruffled and continued to be as ‘normal’ as they had been before.
This awkward degree of ‘normality’ however was only viewed as being so acute due to the wonderful eccentricity and nuances which were to be found on An Awesome Wave. From the dirty electronics on ‘’Fitzpleasure’’ through to the Middle-Eastern twang on ‘’Taro,’’ the record was full of an inventive, tender aesthetic, influencing artists including another up-and-coming Leeds-based band, Adult Jazz. It was the springboard that led to an intense touring schedule, including sets from Reading, Leeds, and Bestival to Sasquatch and the Osheaga Festival in Montreal, Quebec. The success was daunting, but it was nothing less than the album deserved.
With the band’s latest album This Is All Yours, Alt-J have decided to, by and large, stick with the same formula they had adopted on their debut. Joe Newman’s vocals are (largely) as unintelligible as ever, his singing designed more to slip into the mold as opposed to stand on its own. ‘’Nara,’’ which alongside ‘’Arrival In Nara’’ and ‘’Leaving Nara’’ is named after a city in Japan in which the local deer are sacred and allowed to roam free, sees Newman’s vocals adrift amidst a sea of keys, bass, and guitar, creating a haunting aesthetic that is screaming to be performed live. The line ‘I’ve discovered a man like no other man’ is the most easily discernible, and will certainly exist as the track’s lynchpin. However, there are several moments where Newman adopts a slight variation on his vocal approach, most noticeably on the single ‘’Left Hand Free.’’ A degree of contention has developed as to whether the track was written in spite of the band’s label, who wanted the ‘big single,’ but Unger-Hamilton has since argued, that ’Left Hand Free’’ was purely the result of a spontaneous songwriting session. Either way, the far less refined nature of the song leads Newman’s vocals to similarly be more direct and, despite maintaining his normal tone, much easier to understand. Alt-J have commented how the track is their most likely to appeal to ‘American truckers with Good Riddance To Bin Laden stickers!’ Regardless, and even despite its lack of texture and obnoxious organ solo, ‘’Left Hand Free’’ reflects further the eccentricities the band possess in their music, an aspect which has thankfully been maintained on This Is All Yours.
Where ‘’Left Hand Free’’ adopts a straight up rock’n’roll approach, another single, ‘’Hunger Of The Pine,’’ reflects a somewhat different aesthetic the band have developed. Swelling electronics accompany Newman’s vocals before the much publicised Miley Cyrus sample kicks in, and, disregarding all common sense, actually works rather well. The trudging nature of the track is a bit laborious, but the jump from something that on paper looks like a total mismatch into actually working on record is a joy. Similarly, when the name ‘’Bloodflood pt.II’’ was noted on the track listing, there was a fear that I was to be presented with a rehash of ‘’Bloodflood’’ from An Awesome Wave. Instead, what we get is an expansive, emotional piece of music, in which Newman perhaps has his vocals most perfect companion in the form of a brass section in the background. The ability to surprise is an effective tool, and one which Alt-J deploy successfully on several occasions.
For all of the above, however, where This Is All Yours really makes its money, similar to the debut, is within the layers and textures offered throughout the record. ‘’Warm Foothills’’ sees Newman share vocal duties with female performers Marika Hackman and Lianne La Havas with two additional male voices in Conor Oberst and Sivu,, though rather than each having their own line or verse, they are granted no more than a few words at a go, creating an erratic aesthetic. Against the typically tender backdrop Alt-J offer, it encompasses a rare and unique form of beauty that although specific to the band in a performance sense, is impossible not to tap in to. The expanse to ‘’The Gospel Of John Hurt,’’ which was inspired by the iconic stomach-bursting scene from Alien, is again filled with a large array of keys, samples, guitars, and, of course, Newman’s vocals. Green’s exquisite drum work is a bottom layer which is often overlooked, as he is able to add a complexity to the songs and is tireless in the direction he gives to the mesh of layers his bandmates produce time and time again.
In the Alt-J’s most recent interview with the Guardian, author Sam Richards wrote ‘kids don’t buy the escapist rock’n’roll fantasy any more, they know it’s a lie. They want their bands to embody their own anxieties and reduced expectations. They want a band just like them – and Alt-J fit the bill.’ This is correct, as long as the band in question provides a quality of music which acts as an escape within itself. With this clause in mind, Alt-J certainly do check all the boxes. This Is All Yours is more refined and less instantly gripping than their debut, but it encompasses the same tender nuances and enveloping layering of sounds and ideas. When Green explains how ‘I think we do make interesting music, and I’d rather have that than make average music and have to compensate by being ridiculous people,’ you know he isn’t trying to explain his way out of a hole. It’s an honest observation by a band who care little for arbitrary comments, but focus on what matters. This Is All Yours is a textured, evocative, beautiful celebration, and reminds us that Alt-J is anything but boring.
Rating; 4/5