Alt-J – ‘This Is All Yours’ [Review]
And now for something completely different.
Alt-J are not just Alt-J. They’re alt-everything. This Is All Yours is a collection of sounds that branch off into multiple directions – often simultaneously – yet somehow retain a core identifiability as originating from a single source. Singles Hunger Of The Pine and Every Other Freckle twist and turn with a glorious unpredictability – but middle sibling Left Hand Free is this album’s real tipping point. A retromanic slice of rough-edged classic rock complete with authentic production job, it stands out a mile, representing a singularity beyond which all hope of successfully guessing what’s next must be dismissed.
Each track on This Is All Yours contains so many layers that you’l be hearing something new on every repeat until you’re old and grey – yet I get the feeling that if Alt-J were to remove even one note or beat, there would be a distinctive sense of less being less. This album’s sheer unpredictability and repeatability compels a level of obsessive listening that most acts could only dream of inspiring; Alt-J are not a band struggling to escape an overworn rut, but excitable explorers of strange new lands. Travelling from track to track feels like wandering body-free through the greatest non-physical art gallery of all time, or the musical equivalent of Hannibal Lecter’s memory palace.
More than anything, though, This Is All Yours shines with a genuine sense of congruence, a cohesive artistic vision realised with audacity, panache, and self-assurance. Alt-J deserve all the applause in the world for pulling this off. It’s absolutely incredible.
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