Alt-J ::: This Is All Yours

 

 

Where has Alt-J taken me? A wooded, mossy, misty area is where the heart of this album lays. The path you take to get there is met with soothing escapades across a rugged, yet comforting terrain. 

I didn’t quite know how Alt-J could possibly top their debut album, ‘An Awesome Wave’. I approached the idea of a new record as an excited skeptic. Having not done any research about their central ideas on how ‘This Is All Yours’ wanted to be heard, I jumped into their world - ears first. Alt-J wants their listeners to go on a journey with them. You start the album as if you’re entering a new land. This land seems to be a place where tribe-like romance and human nature intertwine like twisted twigs and ivy. I didn't want take the lyrics in this album too literally, but how can you ignore “I want to be every button you press”. I couldn’t.

With all of its ethereal tendencies, ‘This Is All Yours’ can still be incredibly raw. As sexual as Alt-J has been, this album digs deeper and reaches higher while maintaining their unique sound. 

Back to the journey - there is foggy narrative that is pieced together by chants, incredible harmonies, and gentle melodies. I was oh-so-very delighted that Alt-J decided to round out the album with a new take on ‘Bloodflood’ as well as having a sweet surprise in the end. Before you know it, you’re exiting the kingdom Alt-J has built over the subsequent hour with a crown atop your head made of a lifetime of questions and a faint sense of new desires. It's as if you're waking up from a dream. But it’s still ‘all yours’.