A love letter to alt-J

I’ve been struggling to put into words the way I feel about alt-J’s music. Two words keep floating around in my mind: sonically perfect.

Although ‘sonically’ as an adverb refers to the literal sound waves, manipulating such waves in a certain way can make the music feel hypnotic, which is exactly what I think alt-J’s music does.

The instrumentation used throughout their second album This Is All Yours complement each other in the most satisfying manner. Without even touching on their often abstract but profound lyrics, the music is so thoughtful and considered that it stands perfectly on its own. ‘Arrival in Nara’ exemplifies this, and the soft vocals around halfway through just add to the already beautiful melody.

Unconstrained by the boundaries of traditional songwriting, alt-J’s songs tell a story in their structure. ‘Nara’, a love song at its core, has perfectly textured peaks and troughs, preparing the ear for the bridge and outro that I can only describe as flawless.

The intro to their debut album An Awesome Wave is another example that skilfully executes both of the above. Often, the best pieces of music are those that break free of the traditional mould.

Album introductions are often sadly overlooked; they provide such a key opportunity to introduce listeners to the artist’s sound, introduce the story and main themes of the album and give a taster of what’s to come. alt-J understands the importance of a good intro. (Another album intro I particularly like is BANKS’s ‘Till Now’ from her album III).

This Is All Yours was also released with a short track-by-track commentary. It is definitely worth listening to to get an insight into their lyrics, which are beautifully and poetically abstract and are, at times, mixed with masterful colloquialism.

As well as in the music itself, alt-J’s ability to tell a story through their lyrics is also to be rivalled. ‘Taro’, probably my favourite of them all, details the heartbreaking true story of two 20th century war photographers Gerda Taro and Robert Capo and Capo returning to his lover in death.

‘In Cold Blood’ from their third album RELAXER also tells a story about someone getting stabbed at a pool party.

Although they often explore profound and sometimes disturbing themes like in ‘Breezeblocks’ and ‘Fitzpleasure’, alt-J knows how to have a little fun in their storytelling. ‘Left Hand Free’ and ‘Every Other Freckle’ are great examples of when they combine rather unusual similes and metaphors with conversational language to come up with truly amusing lyrics.

alt-J songs I would classify as flawless: