Album Review: alt-j - 'The Dream'
A cerebral road trip down route 66, 'The Dream' is a record that traverses sonic and thematic landscapes as rich and diverse as that much fabled highway. The great American writer, John Steinbeck once exclaimed that “66 is the path of people in flight" and on Alt-J's new album we see a band soaring at the height of their creative powers once again.
After a five-year hiatus, Alt-J return with their long anticipated fourth studio album and perhaps the band's best work to date. The record sparkles with a rejuvenated sense of zest and experimentalism, exploring themes of murder, love, Coca-Cola, revenge, Crypto Currencies, loss and hope, while playing with sound and texture in a way that only Alt-J can.
Following the release of their previous album in 2017, it became evident that the band had reached a cul-de-sac on their creative journey. Gus Unger-Hamilton (vocals, keyboard and bass) explained that they "felt that with Relaxer we had reached the end of something" and as the live shows stemming from the album began to wind down, the band agreed that 2019 would be set aside as a year of reflection and recharge. Regrouping at the beginning of 2020 and working on the album throughout the pandemic, the Mercury Prize winners overcame their initial 'back to school' nerves and reconnected with their natural instincts as a band in a process that culminated in their expansive new record.
'U&ME', the lead single from the new album was the first track that the band worked on in their sessions. Originally stemming from a batch of soundcheck jams on tour, the single "gathered momentum on its own" according to Joe Newman, the bands Lead Vocalist and quickly become the finished article. A laid-back grove that evokes images of cruising down the freeway in the summer sun, enveloped by the rush of young love, the track sets the tone for a number of songs on the record including the albums closer 'Powders'.
In spite of these early flourishes of joy, it isn't long before the album begins to delve into the thematic darkness that embodies a great deal of the bands early work. 'Happier when you're gone' is a stirring break-up song that sees an initial exploration of loss on the record that eventually comes to a crescendo on 'Get better'. A cutting, striped back meditation on grief that is truly heart wrenching in the face of Newman's expressions of yearning “I still pretend you’re only out of sight in another room smiling at your phone”.
Throughout the remainder of the track list the band give us a taste of what they do best, deceivingly dense layers of percussion punctuate tracks like 'Hard drive gold' and "Walk a mile", while songs such as 'Chicago' envelope the listener in a sprawling soundscape that is guaranteed to get people dancing when the band tour the album later this year.
Overall, the record is a triumphant return for the London based band, an album to be savoured and dissected but more importantly, an album to bask in. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Words by Jordan Corrigan
