Recently, I have been going on an album binge and this was an album I have always been curious about. The fourth track, Breezeblocks, had always drawn me in to listening to Alt-J. However, the track only lead me to want more from them, and I figured An Awesome Wave was a great place to start. The album begins with a very chill Intro, a nice snappy lead-in. The pace quickly picks up with one of my favorites from Alt-J, Tessellate. The crisp drums and the crooning vocals really set up the album well, and the lyrics are a pool of metaphors that you have to dive into in order to better understand the song. Later, a fascinating tune, Matilda, is unearthed. This track is based on a movie called Leon: The Professional which I have yet to see, but overall the track is very smooth and pleasurable to the ears! Alt-J chooses to wrap up with a very gentle album closer. Hand-Made is a beautiful conclusion to an overall chaotic record, and the guitar-laden track underneath the rich harmonies leave you to your own devices to reflect upon the pieces of work you’ve listened to throughout Alt-J’s first album of many upon their discography. To put it simply, this was a wonderful listen of an album and I will definitely tune in again.
Rating: 8.5/10
Listen along with me and let me know if you loved or hated the album 🙂
