There's paradox at the centre of Alt-J: how can they inspire such adoration when their stagecraft is so wooden, and their music so wilfully eccentric? How can shows like this one create such fond memories? Part of the answer may be the audience response they draw: almost every song from their debut album An Awesome Wave turned into a spirited sing along last night, and the atmosphere was celebratory. It seems unlikely they inspire this from visual appeal: the band scarcely move from their microphone stand, let alone towards the edge of the stage. The lighting provided some aesthetic interest, but at times I was tempted to close my eyes to get lost in the music. Neither were there witty interludes between songs: Alt-J still seem in awe at their success, addressing us diffidently.
This show sold out within hours, and a second night was added quickly thereafter. When I first saw Alt-J at their first major festival appearance in June 2012, their Mercury Prize victory was still ahead of them, and they played to a modest audience for just 30 minutes. Yet, by the end of that summer, at Reading Festival, I was astonished by the size and enthusiasm of the crowd, and their profile in the UK was exploding. Since those early days, I've seen them in a venue with a pipe organ and choir, in the desert at Coachella, and crammed the front row of a University hall packed with students. Their first album was in my top three of that year, and is still one of my most frequently listened to. So part of the explanation for the rapturous response has to be the memories associated with this metaphoric rise: Alt-J have become part of the soundtrack of their fans' lives.
When I first listened to This Is All Yours, I wasn't immediately won over: this is music which demands repeated listening before it's fully absorbed. Initially, some tracks like Garden of England, played on recorder, felt odd, a few slower numbers appeared tedious, and the overall mood was introspective. Appropriately for a band named after a keyboard shortcut on a Mac, their music can feel geeky, and its quirkiness challenging. Yet, after repeated listening, and experiencing it live, the album is now inside my consciousness, and makes complete sense listened from beginning to end like a classical symphony. They may now have over a million followers on Facebook, but this barrier to instant gratification, the need to invest some effort to understand the music, is key to the fervour of their fan base.
Alt-J begun to be compared to Radiohead almost as soon as they rose to prominence, and this latest album could be described as their Kid A for its willingness to experiment. The two bands are both cerebral, one from Oxford whilst Alt-J bases itself in its great rival Cambridge. I'm not sure if Alt-J will ever have the live intensity of the older band: I still consider them masters of the studio rather than the stage. Yet, both have the confidence to pursue their own creative direction, without too much concern for instant appeal, and they share a love of the intricate rhythms and rich tapestries of sound. Joe Newman's high pitched voice draws comparison with Thom Yorke's, and they are both guitar bands which also embrace technology.
The main set last night was just an hour, with two encores: I wish I'd been able to hear more of their new material, and lamented the omission of Leaving Nara, a final surprise from the album. They were almost technically flawless throughout, despite the difficulty of the material, and seemed little affected by the replacement of bass player Gwill Sainsbury after he left amicably at the start of this year. There were times though when I suspected a reliance on pre-recorded electronics, which only heightens the feeling that their music is the considered product of the studio rather than being spontaneous. Yet, the paradox remains: despite outwardly reserved performances, this was one of the most joyous evenings of my year, the love song Tessellate proving euphoric. My highlight though was Taro, one of their most visionary songs and proof that in the end, sheer compositional imagination transcends all else.
Set List
- Hunger of the Pine
- Fitzpleasure
- Something Good
- Left Hand Free
- Dissolve Me
- Matilda
- Bloodflood
- SheSheShe (Ripe & Ruin)
- Tessellate
- Every Other Freckle
- Taro
- Warm Foothills
- The Gospel of John Hurt
- Nara
- Breezeblocks
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