‘An Awesome Wave’ is a cornucopia of mismatched, incongruous shapes and sounds that fit seamlessly together. Not all the lyrics rhyme, and Joe Newman’s vocals are creepy and insinuating. ItÔÇÖs a match made in heaven. While jazz, dubstep, indie, electronica and folk are just some of the influences that can be heard, Alt-J is a genre in its own right.

Lyrics are deep, with layers of meaning, following a theme of referencing┬ábooks and films throughout. ‘Breezeblocks’, for example, quotes Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, and Natalie Portman gets a subtle mention in ‘Matilda’.

‘Taro‘┬áis about two war photographers (Robert Capa and Gurda Taro) who met during the second world war. They married and fell in love before Gurda Taro was killed. Robert Capa never got over the death of his wife, and the song talks about the moment 10 years afterwards when he steps on a landmine, and he knows he is dying but also that he is soon going to be with his Taro again soon.

Breezeblocks is the song everyone knows. And thereÔÇÖs a good reason. This love song cross murder ballad is about liking someone so much, that you want to hurt them. (see, where the wild things are). If you’re a fan of┬á’Breezeblocks’ (which, come on, everyone does) chances are youÔÇÖll enjoy the rest of the album.

This is a perfect album if┬áyouÔÇÖre setting the mood, trying to revise or on a long drive home. The lyrics arenÔÇÖt easy to comprehend unless youÔÇÖre actively listening, which is what makes it so perfect for a background playlist ÔÇô you can light the candles and close the curtains and be completely oblivious to the fact that Matilda is about a guy called Leon getting blown up.

 

Kirby Evans