I'm not sure if there is a band that has gotten more attention and buzz in the indie scene right now than Alt-J. Their debut record, "An Awesome Wave" came out last year to much critical acclaim and ended up on many music blogger's "Best of 2012 Lists" (including mine). On Friday the band took the stage at the Riverside Theater after selling out Turner Hall, and the Pabst Theater previously. I don't believe there has been another act to come to town and upgrade to not one, but two venues. The place was as jam packed as I've ever seen the Riverside Theater. So, what makes this band so buzz worthy?Alt-J blends a lot of different sounds to create a unique blend of music. The band's influences range from electronic beats, atmospheric loops, folk sensibilities, pounding beats, and harmonizing vocals. Comprised of Gwil Sainsbury (guitarist/bassist), Joe Newman (guitar/vocals), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards) and Thom Green (drums), all of whom met at Leeds College in England in 2007, Alt-J is a relatively new band, but you couldn't tell that by their stage performance Friday night.
Their live show is best described as polished. The quartet relied heavily on material from "An Awesome Wave," as was expected, and played to their audience well (although with little stage banter). One could argue that the lighting engineer for the band served as the fifth member, as the visual accompaniments went along perfectly with the music, making for a wonderful visual and aural experience for the jam packed crowd. Their sound and overall performance can be best seen in their song, "Dissolve Me" which includes the best of the band's harmonizing vocals, paired with a fantastic light arrangement.
Other tunes from "An Awesome Wave" like "Tesselate," "Breezeblocks," and "Fitzpleasure" were delivered with great energy. Alt-J proved to be a band that clearly deserves the buzz they are receiving these days.
Grade: B
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