It's pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point that alt-J is a success story. Despite having embraced the kind of music that doesn't normally get a lot of love on mainstream outlets, the group has still managed to bridge the gap between niche market, and mass appeal. Their debut album, An Awesome Wave, spread quickly via word of mouth, and would eventually become one of the biggest indie albums of 2012. Of course, alt-J had already enjoyed a lot of exposure before that, but the inaugural album is always the gatekeeper for any band to pass through if they want to be considered qualified to hit it big, and when it was met with overwhelming approval, they went from underdogs to the establishment. Now, they're the kind of band that other up-and-coming acts compare to, and with their second album, This Is All Yours, they've a new status with which to recognize. Since January of this year, alt-J's been without the expertise of guitarist Gwil Sainsbury, but the band says that the split was amicable, and their craft seems to be as strong as ever despite running one man down. True, This Is All Yours has received some criticism for being a little too off-center when compared to the band's previous work, but overall, the music on this thirteen-song tracklist represents some very welcome growth, and it's got in it some of their best work to date. It should be noted that their top three singles, "Every Other Freckle", "Left Hand Free", and "Hunger Of the Pine" are all powerhouse tracks with both energy and finesse to spare, but the rest of the catalog is relatively subdued in comparison. In fact, track like "Garden Of England" and "Arrival In Nara" are almost completely different when it comes to pacing, structure, and influence. From start to finish, the music on the album is pretty amazing, but one can't help but notice there's a pretty distinct division in style between the music we heard prior the album's release, and the stuff that we're hearing now. It's almost as if alt-J trickle-fed everybody the songs that they felt would have the widest appeal and the most energy, rather than trusting fans to embrace the true scope of sounds that would eventually come to light on the album. When all the context is stripped away, however, the project is still undeniably great, and there's no question the guys are still putting out top-notch sounds despite the eclecticism of them. If we're being frank, this is alt-J we're talking about here, so we do have to keep in mind the fact that they got famous off weird and unpredictable songs that didn't fit any particular sonic mold. It goes without saying, then, that this newest album of theirs was going to turn a few heads. People most likely didn't expect such a unique collection of songs, to be sure, but after you warm up to them all, you'll consider them to comprise one of the more enjoyable full-length listens this year. Purchase This Is All Yours on iTunes now.
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