Alt-J. Just the band's name is a bit of a nerdy reference, and after An Awesome Wave many people dismissed them as hipsters who were far more style than substance. But two years and a lost band member later we have This Is All Yours. It's fun, frisky and fantastic. Going into this album I expected a snooze fest of over indulgence and mono tonal singing. What I did get from Alt-J's second album is close to alternative perfection.
In Japan there is a city called Nara in which tame deers wander round without being flattened by Land Rovers. Alt-J dedicate three songs to this idyllic place (un creatively named Arrival In Nara, Nara and Leaving Nara). Both Arrival In Nara and Nara appear at the front of the EP, and Nara is the first track in This Is All Yours that is really interesting. A dirty skuzzy guitar riff followed by twinkling percussion, a big difference from the mundanity of Matilda. Every Other Freckle sounds like a 14 year old boy's first dream with a woman in it, turn you inside out and lick you like a crisp packet. It is filthy perfection, the first time the so called hipsters get frisky and the first time you might be able to dance to Alt-J. Link this up with western banger Left Hand Free you've got some potential headliner material.The most disappointing thing about music post junior school is the lack of Recorder Solos. WELL LOOK NO FURTHER BECAUSE ALT-J HAVE PUT IN A RECORDER SOLO. Yes really. It works almost as an inside joke of their experimentalism, or was it a drunken bet? Nobody knows. Another possible dirty pint moment is a sample of the ever-twerking, ever-embarassing, ever-instagramming singer Miley Cyrus. On track Hunger Of The Pine there is a pulsing beat which has come straight out of Tron, skip a minute or so and there she is Hannah Montana screaming I'm a female red bull (rebel). Yet again, Gwil and co have actually managed to make it work. And that is why This Is All Yours works so damn well.
The Gospel Of John Hurt is the most recognisable factor from An Awesome Wave where vocals were recorded through a fan. Even though vocals are similar, the progression from the ultimate bedroom band to international performers is clear. Alt-J are no longer a music nerd's guilty pleasure, grabbing a number one record last week shows how cool they are. This Is All Yours is an excellently crafted album with a little bit of wit, little bit of weird and the tiniest ounce of sexual ferocity.
