Alt-J at The Academy 2 on Thursday 24th May
Review: Ros Madigan
Photo: Kieran Frost
The past couple of months have seen Alt-J begin to stamp their mark upon 2012. Since the release of their song Breezeblocks, as far back as March 2011, they have slowly but surely been gaining interest from all walks of the musical sphere.
Even despite their oddly old-school MacBook short-key name and their peculiar decision to keep their faces from all press photo shots, it has been their fresh approach to their own brand of youth melodic indie-pop that has drawn so many interested parties.
An impressive sun soaked mid-week crowd was pulled into the depths of the Academy 2 for Alt-J‘s return to Ireland. The aptly named Intro would lead off proceedings on the night as the crowd got it’s first glimpses of Joe Newman’s flawless falsetto sonic rumblings. A slight touch of Devandra Banhart can be detected in the delivery of the vocal as Newman powerfully leads the band forward. The Trivium shirt-wearing Newman soon hands the baton over to the baseball-cap wearing Thom Green who shows the first signs of genius with the track Tessellate.
With a quick glance of the stage, something seems amiss, on further inspection it becomes apparent there is no cymbals to be seen. Thom Green more than makes up for this oddity as he treats and thrills the Dublin crowd with his sublime use of a foot shaker instead of a high-hat and a maraca instead of a drum stick. All these changes result in a drumming performance more inventive than any seen in recent memory.
Breezeblocks, the big single, entertains next as Alt-J show a musical maturity far beyond their years. Most bands of the same stage in their development opt to pack each and every second with noise and big chords. Alt-J do the exact opposite, instead letting the track time to breath with lengthy pauses and drawn out atmospheric periods. MS shows us the strengths of the vocal harmonies as Alt-J provide rousing layered verses, before Matilda lets Newman shine on his own as the whole crowd accompanies in tandem.
Fitzpleasure is the stand out track by far on the night as the Academy 2 picks up the tempo for the unforgettable, deep-electro drop early on in the song. A song that will surely feature memorably over the summer festival season fast approaching us. Taro rounds off the night as the Macaulay Culkin (circa 1998′) lookalike guitarist, Gwil Sainsbury, uses an egg shaker to great effect in order to hammer out a fascinating sound on his fretboard.
High expectations awaited Alt-J upon their arrival in Dublin and they certainly did not disappoint with a tantalising live performance that leaves all doubt fully behind. In Newman they have a voice unlike many others, while in Thom Green they have a drummer without compare for a man so young. A drumming aural and visual treat with inventive harmonies, beats and keys thrown in for good measure. Expect to be hearing a lot more of Alt-J in the future.
Set List:
Intro
She
Tessellate
Something Good
Breezeblocks
MS
Bloodflood
Matilda
Hand-Made
Fitzpleasure
Taro
Alt-J Photo Gallery
Photos: Kieran Frost
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