alt-J – RELAXER
welcome folks! this week we’re continuing our look at alt-J with their third full album, RELAXER, released in June 2017.
3WW is p good, but those “three worn words” moments crest so good, with the strings backing them and the volume rising – that’s the good shit. i feel a bit conflicted about it – on the one hand, i like the rest of the track a lot less than those moments, but on the other hand i think those moments wouldnt hit as hard without the rest of the track being structured like that. much to ponder! In Cold Blood really works for me – the number motif is very cool, and the synth work here is really cool when backed by the careful use of the horns and the rest of the swelling instrumentation. great track! their cover of House of the Rising Sun is also neat, and a very interesting take on the track. i like Hit Me Like That Snare quite a bit – got a fun twang to it. Deadcrush is fine. Adeline is one of the tracks i don’t really connect very strongly with. Last Year had an interesting callback to Hit Me Like That Snare, but otherwise wasn’t doing a ton for me. Pleader is a very fun closer! it’s got a very tense, cinematic opening, some really reverent verses, and the space between them is really really neat.
faves – In Cold Blood, Hit Me Like That Snare
dislikes –
okay before i say anything else about this record i just have to note that this record had 5 singles, on an 8 track record. Hit Me, House of the Rising Sun, and Last Year really were the least favorite children. lotta fun experimentation on this record! these tracks are not afraid of taking some weird risks, and i really gotta give it a hand for that. even with the hit and miss way i connected with the tracks, i still think this is a pretty good package and def worth checking out.
RELAXER – 6/10
first: An Awesome Wave | previous: This Is All Yours | next: The Dream
next week, we’ll be closing out the alt-J discography review with their most recent record, The Dream. i’m gonna take the week after to cover a KGLW record i missed, but expect a poll soon to select the next discography!
have a suggestion for a discography for me to review? let me know!
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