This is All Yours might be one of the most cohesive and interesting releases of 2014.
Alt-J, officially a trio (but still performing as a quartet) burst on to the scene seemingly from nowhere in late 2012. I caught the band that some were hailing as the next Radiohead right as “Breezeblocks” and “Fitzpleasure” were at the forefront of the alt/indie consciousness. To say I was intrigued was an understatement. The hype was at worst understood and at best well deserved.
This Is All Yours is chock full of interesting arrangements, gorgeous harmonies and minor keys. You get all of the above in the first track, the four and a half minute “Intro” which is perfectly capable of standing alone as well as being an introductory tune. As soon as I heard the “la la la la la” in the minor key I knew I was going to love this album.
How can you not love a record containing allusions to Alien (“The Gospel of John Hurt”), CS Lewis (“Nara”) and a trio of songs named after a not so known Japanese city? Answer me that. The weirdness is part of the appeal of the lyrics. The band does shy away from the weirdness a bit for the duration of “Every Other Freckle” in which the lyrics dive headfirst into unapologetic passion.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCCXq9QB-dQ[/youtube]“Left Hand Free,” as you may have guessed, is a caveat in the record. Or not, depending how you look at it. The song arose as somewhat of an afterthought meant to appease record executives’ yearnings for a “single.” It does disrupt the flow of the album, but it also is a break that perhaps accentuates the beauty in tracks that might be overlooked. And, it really isn’t a bad song. Cue the “one of these things, is not like the other” song of your childhood…
The group does minimalism well too. “Arrival in Nara” and “Choice Kingdom” are acoustically driven tracks that do not feel out of place. The latter is a reassurance that the band knows what they’re doing after the slight misstep (but still solid) like I said “song for the radio.” “Choice Kingdom” continues the band’s thematic roots a bit – abstract imagery and an allusion to waves (An Awesome Wave, get it?).
“Leaving Nara” carries a slight melancholic air, and is the closest thing to a club track we find, moving beyond chillwave but stopping short of full on synth rock. Think of it as a mid tempo IDM rock track.
I’m going to end my streams of consciousness you might call a review here. Because that’s what this record does – produces streams of consciousness you might not expect. But they are good ones.
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