Review Summary: Alt-J(ust ok)
The term “sophomore slump” is one dreaded by many. It’s a condition that many great artists -- Counting Crows, Nas, MGMT, Snoop Dog -- suffered from. These talented musicians stormed onto the musical scene with debut albums that blew people away but were unable to keep up the pace, following up their earth-shattering first records with tepid second offerings.
Well, I have bad news for fans of Alt-J. It appears the English band that sky-rocketed to the top of the indie rock game with 2012’s “An Awesome Wave” has fallen prey to the sophomore slump syndrome and put out a sub-par subsequent album.
That’s not to say it’s all bad. Certain tracks like “Every Other Freckle” and lead single “Hunger of the Pine” are deep and dynamic, deftly layering drums, distorted guitars, and vocal effects to produce something special. Down-tempo “Warm Foothills” uses whistling and female vocals to grasp the listener. But surpassing all of those is album standout “Left Hand Free,” which will inspire infectious head bobbing and multiple listens with a groovy bassline, catchy chorus, and phenomenal vocal performance from lead singer Joe Newman.
Unfortunately, quality tracks like those are few and far between on “This Is All Yours.” More common are snail-paced, gloomy songs like “Arrival in Nara,” “Choice Kingdom,” and “Pusher,” that start slow and either go nowhere or take so long to develop that listeners will get bored. And that’s the primary problem with Alt-J’s new album: It’s boring.
The album only runs 51 minutes, but it feels like it takes much longer than that to get through the whole thing because of poor pacing. The album’s one interlude, “Garden of England,” is a dull flute exhibition and kills any momentum that “Left Hand Free” might have brought, while the initially intriguing “The Gospel of John Hurt” is brought down by a suffocating repetitiveness that stymies the good vibes coming from the tracks before.
“An Awesome Wave” was a catchy, upbeat album with brooding undertones. “This Is All Yours” plays like a brooding album with catchy, upbeat tracks occasionally peppered throughout. This shift is an unwelcome one, especially because we know what Alt-J is capable of when firing on all cylinders. Hopefully they’ll give us a product that all of it is worth keeping next time.
The verdict: It may be all ours, but too much insipid filler will make listeners leave much of “This Is All Yours” by the wayside.
