RELAXER is the first full length release we’ve heard from Leeds Art Rock trio, alt-J , in three years. The follow up to their 2014 record This Is All Yours, which was a less cohesive album than their debut, An Awesome Wave, but still had some great twists and turns that showed an even broader palette for alt-J. With this new record though, we’ve got even more twists in the track listing in terms of tone, instrumentation and even mixing. Though Relaxer, seems to hit that mark of a coherent album that their second album missed.

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There seems to be two halves to the instrumentation for this album. On one hand we’ve got these tranquil, easy listening tracks that take the opportunity to take the slow-burner route and build into orchestral endings. Songs like 3WW, House of the Rising Sun and Last Year. Though Adeline is the song I found to be biggest stand out of the more quieter tracks. Starting out with some nice plucky guitar playing, the track slowly builds into an epic yet disconsolate ending. The build begins with simple light drum beat, then comes in with bright and ethereal synths and strings. By the end of the track we’ve got a driving drum beat with some avant-garde backing vocals that bring the whole song to life. On the other hand of the instrumentals, we’ve got more experimental rock infused with various genres and instruments, pulled off brilliantly. Hit Me Like That Snare sounding like an amateur garage rock song with cow bell, Deadcrush is a heavy bass line infused track with light hip-hop drums and funky electric guitar. Though the most extravagant track is In Cold Blood, starting with it’s live drums, organ and heavy guitar, though the song really becomes something else when the brass comes in. Trombone and trumpets mixed with some electronic synths are added to the mix around the chorus to create an incredibly lively and textured experience. Though the song Pleader I found to be quite messy tonally wise, I enjoyed the kind of dark Spanish style guitar playing with the high note strings, though the pairing with a blissful woodwind sound simply didn’t work for me.

Frontman Joe Newman is just as strong with his vocals on this record, delivering possibly the most distinct part of alt-J with great execution. His tone and pitch perfectly suited to any song, Hit Me Like That Snare shows a shouty, monotone Newman, Last Year: sad and quiet and In Cold Blood he’s almost eery but really in your face at the same time. Gus Unger-Hamilton’s backing vocals add a nice ominous layer to the mix. We also get a couple of female voices coming in on the songs 3WW and Last Year. I found that Ellie Rowsell on 3WW was quite lack lustre by herself, though she was a good addition for the chorus. Marika Hackman’s addition on Last Year is beautiful, and the dual singing with Newman at the end of the track truly brings out a great emotion.

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The lyrics on RELAXER are more story like than alt-J’s last two albums, and at first seems to not come off as wonderfully strange as other lyrics we’ve heard. In truth the writing here is even stranger although more poetic, and like most alt-J songs, packed with references. While the song Adeline, on the surface, is seemingly about the narrator loosing a woman, though alt-J have said themselves the song is actually about a Tasmanian Devil that falls in love with a woman swimming named Adeline. Knowing this doesn’t actually take away any of the emotion from the song, it definitely becomes less relatable, though The song 3WW takes the cake for the most linear type narrative of the all the tracks here, about a “Wayward Lad” that ends up having an encounter with “girls from the pool”, to which he says the “three worn words” to them of I Love You. In Cold Blood is a song about a harmless pool party that takes a dark turn, thus “pool, summer, summer, pool” progressing into “pool, killer, killer, pool”. All these various stories make for an even better experience for the album. While the writing is easier to digest than most of alt-J’s catalogue, the wonderful weirdness of the tracks’ tales is refreshing and imaginative. Definitely staying outside of what we keep getting hit over the head with on commercial radio.

Another great addition to alt-J’s discography, RELAXER is a journey that takes you in all different directions within all aspects of the album, executed with style and uniqueness.

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AMNPLIFY – DB