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IN REVIEW: Alt-J - "Relaxer"


Well, if nothing else, Alt-J's third record is odd.

After taking the indie rock world by storm five years ago with An Awesome Wave and putting it to sleep two years later with This Is All Yours, Relaxer sets out to do whatever the hell it wants, whether that's bringing in a string section, referencing binary code in its lyrics, delivering a somber quasi-cover of House of the Rising Sun, tossing off a garage rocker that includes counting in Japanese and a barrage of F-bombs (yet curiously censors "fisting"), or getting right with the lord.

Suffice to say, there's a lot to unpack on this record, which works both to its benefit and detriment. On one hand, there are genuine thrills to be had; 3WW comes off a bit self-important but is undeniably endearing. After a few listens, In Cold Blood begins to reveal itself as a damn fine single. Deadcrush dresses its odd subject matter with the most infectious beat they've employed since their debut. Last Year is the album's tenderest moment, but also its most sincere.

On the other hand, there are a lot of baffling choices made here; House of the Rising Sun starts off as a slowed down cover but twists it into a tale of an alcoholic father and weaves in a refrain of "happy happy happy happy fun day day"; it simply doesn't click. Ditto Hit Me Like That Snare, the album's most whacked-out moment, the aforementioned garage rocker with the Japanese and the swearing. That profane refrain, "Fuck you! I'll do what I want to!" may as well be the album's mantra, but this silly song with all its forced oddity stands as compelling evidence for maybe not doing what you want to and sticking to the script instead every once in a while. Pleader, the album's closing track, calls dibs on the award for Pretentious Recording of the Year, utilizing every sonic trick the band can think of (including, but not limited to: footsteps entering the studio intro, intricate acoustic guitar, ominous bass, church organs, choir, sirens, flute solo, swelling orchestra). It's an overstuffed holy mess of a song that equates a big finish to throwing it all at the wall and seeing what sticks.

The end result is an album that's intriguing by default, but it's a very uneven, often bewildering and sometimes downright frustrating listen. It's a record that feels less interested in exploring a band's limits than it is in simply seeing how far out it can go. I get the feeling that, if they could focus their efforts on making quality music free of sonic concealer and perhaps not try so hard to appear like the trailblazers they desperately want to become, Alt-J could have another great album in them. Relaxer gets points for bravery, but it is not that album.

June 2, 2017 • Canvasback/Atlantic
Highlights 3WW • In Cold Blood • Deadcrush

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