Album Review: Alt-J - Relaxer

The third album from the British trio sees Alt-J somewhat branching out from their original traditional nostalgic folk and dipping their collective toe into the world of almost-electronic music.

This doesn't quite work as well to their advantage — particularly on the fifth track Deadcrush, which virtually sounds like Joe Newman singing over what can only be described as trap-ish, electronic beats.  

Without a doubt the highlight of the album is the slow, creeping, delicate gem House Of The Rising Sun, closely followed by Hit Me Like That Snare (a slight nod to the sound of The Doors' An American Prayer, perhaps?) — and with an eerie but also kind of gorgeous, wailing high-pitched screech. For the long-term fans and listeners of Alt-J, the catchy, slow burning In Cold Blood, the anthem-like Adeline and opening track 3WW are likely album favourites.

Relaxer ends on the convincingly grand yet playful Pleader, a track that uses the flamenco guitar against Newman's voice, church organ and presumably violin, to create an orchestral sounding summary of the album. All in all, there lies some interesting use of instruments and sounds in Alt-J's follow-up from their 2014 album This Is All Yours — albeit a little inconsistent.