Alt-J
Alt-J
O2 Academy, Glasgow
Jonathan Geddes
The venues are larger, but Alt-J have certainly not succumbed entirely to mainstream conventions yet. Lined up Kraftwerk style along the front of the stage, they offered little chat or movement, letting the music dominate. Luckily this display, coming just ahead of the release of their second album This Is All Yours, weaved some disparate and quirky patterns throughout, yet also satisfied on a gut level as well.
There was a confidence about matters, right from Hunger of the Pine, which started with just vocals and synths before dropping in a Miley Cyrus sample, and a thumping, ominous rendition of Fitzpleasure that could have soundtracked a human sacrifice, aided by Thom Green's terrific drumming.
Material was divided between their two albums. The group's best moments occurred when they linked an adventurous spirit with enough muscle to stop songs drifting away.
Left Hand Free's crunchy guitar was more hard-nosed 60s garage rock than anything else, while the skittish backdrop of Dissolve Me smoothly slid into an anthemic number, led by Joe Newman's vocals.
Their flaws tended to arrive when the actual music stretched too far in one direction. The rather predictable chant-a-long of Matilda seemed plucked from a much less interesting indie band, while the encore's Nara was pretty yet forgettable.
However they are a band making creative songs capable of sparking fervour on the dancefloor, which is a tricky balance to get right. When they managed it, as on set highlights The Gospel of John Hurt, which bounded from totemic rhythms to twangy guitar and a fuzzy finale energetically, or the gilding Taro, they were thrilling.
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