The Dream: Album Review

When I was in the midst of previewing Coachella and almost ready to head out for the second leg of my Mexico adventure in February, alt-J dropped their fourth full length album The Dream. The band also recently embarked on a North American tour with Portugal. The Man in support of their latest with more dates planned for this year worldwide. The Dream is their first album in five years since 2017’s Relaxer. Overall, alt-j’s latest album maintains their unique indie rock style of sound that is prevalent throughout their first three records with a slightly more Americanized rock sound.

The album much like it’s title is very dreamy. It’s very chill and sometimes somber indie rock with minimal bops. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a long scenic drive in my opinion. “Hard Drive Gold” is the “Left Hand Free”, “Breezeblocks”, or “In Cold Blood” of The Dream. I feel like each alt-j album so far has one of those and “Hard Drive Gold”, the song about crypto, is that hit of their latest release. “U&Me”, “Get Better”, & “Happier When You’re Gone” are solid tracks reminiscent of that classic alt-J sound as well. The main difference from this album compared to their first three is that alt-j’s sound has steered from the Middle Eastern sounds found in their earlier music. It’s more rock heavy yet the vocals are still smooth and distinguishable as alt-J tracks.

I don’t think this is alt-J’s best work, but the album does have a good handful of quality tracks that will stick around on set lists in the future. I feel like any time a band slightly strays from their original sound this tends to happen. It’s worth listening to as an alt-J fan though and is probably worth adding to your music collection too. I added it to mine on vinyl yesterday and I’m stoked to listen to it on this rainy spring weekend. If you haven’t already, check it out on a chill day or when you need a good soundtrack for a long drive. It’s quality new alt-J ∆.

Coachella Band Preview: Alt-J

With 43 days left until Weekend One of Coachella 2015, music prep time continues to run out. That’s why today I’m previewing another band playing a bigger role in this year’s festival compared to the last time they played in 2013.

Formed in 2007, English indie rock band Alt-J has exploded on the indie music scene within the last two and a half years since the release of their first album An Awesome Wave in 2012. Their name comes from their symbol ∆ (the delta sign) which can be typed on a Mac by pressing alt-j (I actually did it to type the symbol in this sentence…so cool). Members Joe Newman, Thom Green, Gus Unger-Hamilton and former member Gwil Sainsbury (replaced by Cameron Knight this past year) created the band while studying at Leeds University. They eventually signed a record deal in late 2011 and released An Awesome Wave that following spring (although it wasn’t released in America until September 2012).

I first heard of Alt-J one Saturday morning in October 2012 right before heading out of the house. One of my favorite actresses, Troian Bellisario (star of TV’s Pretty Little Liars), had posted about the song “Breezeblocks” to some form of social media. I listened to it and downloaded it right after while I was waiting for my mom to be ready to go to where ever we were going that morning. I remember being in the process of downloading it when my mom said she was ready to leave. A day later I downloaded the song “Something Good”. Since that time I would hear an Alt-J song here or there and download it. It wasn’t until this past September when Alt-J released their Grammy nominated second album This is All Yours that I decided I needed to get the album on vinyl (ended up getting it for Christmas).

Although I knew about Alt-J for a little over 2 years I never went through a major phase when I listened to them constantly. I feel like they’re the kind of band you put on when you’re just relaxing in your room. Their sound is basically indie music with electronics that create this (at times) Arabian-like style especially in songs like “Fitzpleasure” and “Taro”. It could partially be Newman’s vocals that create that effect as well. Its definitely something to listen to. The hit off their latest album “Left Hand Free” has more of an indie rock feel, but still has that same unique Alt-J sound that is evident in all their music.

This year at Coachella they’re playing the Saturday date on Weekend One and Weekend Two in more of a headlining role. With their rise in the indie scene and the amount of sold-out shows they’ve played, it’s only natural to see them on the main stage this time around. It should be one of the highlights of the weekend for sure. With not much prep time left, it’s time to start checking these guys out.

Song recommendations:

1. “Breezeblocks”

2. “Left Hand Free”

3. “Fitzpleasure”

4. “Something Good”

5. “Warm Foothills”

6. “Tessellate”

7. “Every Other Freckle”

8. “Pusher”

9. “Hunger on the Pine” (As a side note, this song features Miley Cyrus…so let that sink in.)

10. “Taro”