∆ Riding An Awesome Wave Of Hype

The latest British buzz band to get way too much praise way too soon is ∆ (aka alt-J; don't bother unless you have a Mac, I had to copy and paste it from Windows Character Map). Having just released their debut album An Awesome Wave at home in late May, ∆ has already had critical accolades lauded upon them and seen fans arrive in droves, foaming at the mouth. It's the same kind of overwhelming build-up that can only be manufactured by the Brits, and usually leads to the casual listener being underwhelmed.

An Awesome Wave is not the second coming of Muse. It's not as brilliantly haphazard and scatterbrained as you may have heard. It's certainly not a new benchmark in originality. It's Mumford and Sons with funkier beats crossed with Liars-ish rhythmic experiments that keep their arms inside the ride at all times. And, really, it's kind of modern hipster-centric; you need a Mac to type their name without effort, for starters. They've also gone out of their way to talk about their literacy; they've even penned a song influenced by Where The Wild Things Are because that's what you're supposed to do to prove you're smart (don't they know Metallica did it first?).

Is An Awesome Wave worth a listen? Absolutely; as far as debuts go, it's an interesting and engaging experience. Just make sure you're going in with realistic expectations and you're sure to take something positive from it. ∆ aren't genre-busting visionaries, but they are an exciting new band with intriguing possibilities.

An Awesome Wave gets a North American release September 18 via Canvasback.

Comments

Year in Rock 2025

Alright, I've got some explaining to do. By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but: a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Sam Roberts Band

SAM ROBERTS BAND I Feel You From: Collider Released: May 10 Having already endured the breakout success ( Brother Down was Canada's it rock song of 2002), the tentative dabbling in the U.S. market, as is the rite of passage for all moderately successful Canuck artists (2003's debut We Were Born in a Flame was the best time to try; one of the best albums of the year, it made a small dent in the American mindset upon its release there a year later), the difficult, druggy third album (the aptly named 2005 disc Chemical City ), and the subdued creative step backward (2008's Love at the End of the World , aside from hit single Them Kids , was really kinda bland), it seems according to script that Sam Roberts would start settling in on his fourth album (and first with the band credited as equal contributors), Collider (you know, I think it was a bad idea to give me brackets). Well, as far as settling in goes, Roberts does and doesn't on Collider . W...

IN REVIEW: Rancid - "Trouble Maker"

As far as punk rock goes, it's hard to name a hotter hot streak than the trio of records Rancid cranked out between 1995 and 2000; the star making ...And Out Come the Wolves , the far-reaching Life Won't Wait and their balls-to-the-wall second self-titled album solidly positioned Rancid as leaders of the second generation of punk. It also preceded a period of slow progression, as Rancid would take eleven years to release their next three records. By the time ...Honor Is All We Know came in 2014, many fans (myself included) had to wonder whether or not this was the end of the road. Such concerns are handily dealt with on the closing track of the standard edition of their ninth record, the positively punishing This Is Not the End . Well, okay then, that's sorted. Now, what of this new record? What do we make of the use of their original logo on the cover, a logo that hasn't graced a Rancid record in 25 years? Is this a throwback to the band's heyday, a new begin...

SOUND BITES

Search This Blog