Live Review: alt-j - O2 Academy, Leeds 09/05/2022
Ten years on from the release of their debut album, Alt-J returned to Leeds to delight fans with a flawless performance of the greatest hits to date.
A packed out O2 Academy awaited Joe Newman, Thom Sonny Green and Gus Unger-Hamilton in the city where it all started for Alt-J in 2007. Since their formation, the band have gone on to receive extensive critical acclaim for their four studio albums, most notably receiving a Mercury Prize for their debut 'An Awesome Wave" back in 2012.
With the group's extensive back catalogue, the Leeds crowd waited in the excited anticipation. The stage was set for the band's return to the city and when they emerged they were met by rapturous applause from the audience before kicking off the set with 'Bane', the opener from their most recent album 'The Dream' which was released earlier this year. The tracks brooding air paired with the flickering candles that illuminated the band made for an atmospheric, theatrical start to the evenings proceedings that was soon shattered as the group launched into fan favourite 'Every Other Freckle' in their second track of the night.
Despite Alt-J's considerable list of 'bangers' I have always consider them more of a band to marvel at than anything else. Their collective musicality is truly striking and like nothing else I have ever observed from a live act before however, my preconceptions soon went out the window when I found myself dancing along to 'The Actor' and 'In Cold Blood', two of my favourite tunes from the band's releases to date.
The set cruised through offerings from each of the band's four studio albums however, some of the best receptions of the evening came from tracks taken from their debut album. Earlier in the day the group had taken a trip to their old university digs and that thirst for nostalgia was one that was mirrored by the crowd who revelled in cuts such as 'Tesselate' and 'Matilda' with an unabashed reverie.
Perhaps the highlight of the night came when the band played through the track 'Taro' taken from 'An Awesome Wave'. At this point the band were truly in full flow with Newman playing guitar riffs of the upmost complexity with the confident swagger of a man at the height of his powers. This paired with with the percussive brilliance of Green and the backing of Unger-Hamilton perfectly encapsulated the evening in one perfectly refined vignette.
Bathed in neon green, the band brought their set to a close a rendition of 'Fitzpleasure' that saw the crowd burst into frenzied motion in a moment that was un-paralleled throughout the rest of the evening. Owing to the intensity of the response to the evenings closer, it was inevitable that the band would return to the stage to close out the night with three of their biggest hits to date, 'Left Hand Free', 'Hard Drive Gold' and of course, the iconic 'Breezeblocks'.
A spectacle befitting the band's extensive and expansive oeuvre, Alt-J's performance at the Leeds O2 Academy proves that they are simply one of the best live band's around and one that needs to be experienced to be truly appreciated.
Words by Jordan Corrigan
