Britain’s whitest band wades into hip-hop with their newest release, Reduxer. A reworking of their successful 2017 release “Relaxer,” alt-’s new album has some memorable moments and some moments you’ll hope to forget. In their fourth full length album, the band explores their more subtle influence—hip hop—but stays true to their signature experimental, alternative style. The album is loosely platformed on the idea of a “global hip-hop”—featuring artists from around the world and, rhythmically, including beats consistent with everything from American rock to reggetan. In some moments, alt-J’s risks pay off, yielding intricate sculptures of sound; but, more often than not, moments of brilliance were eclipsed by the band trying too hard to fit pieces together, resulting in a disjointed listening experience.
They set the bar low with their opening track, “3WW,” featuring Little Simz. The artists lay elementary poetry on an underwhelming beat, leaving the listener wondering if they missed the point or if alt-J missed the mark. Little Simz tries to hide the simplicity of her rap in convoluted allusions, saying she’s “Feeling stranger things / I’ll be Snow White with my seven dwarves, can’t lie.” Alt-J intermittently interjects with muted verses from the original make of the song, but their sample choices are irrelevant to Little Simz’s lyrics. The bar stays low with the remix of the remake “House of the Rising Sun,” featuring Australian rapper Tuka. Sound confusing? It is.
It takes confidence to cover a classic. It takes audacity to sample your cover in a remix and give it the same name as the classic. This is exactly what alt-J did. The question remains, did they do it well? The answer: no and yes. Taken at face value, this song is a mish mash of sounds that don’t work together. The song feels bumpy and a disservice to The Animals. Lyricism is a different story. The song is vulnerable, talking about the struggles of growing up in a broken home, the inconsistency of life and the risk of grace. By sampling “House of the Rising Sun,” the song takes on a deeper tone, exemplifying the intentionality of the band. The song is worth contemplation, but it’s one of many to fall short. But, fear not die-hards, there are a few moments of redemption.
Jimi Charles Moody is the first saving grace as he turns “Hit Me Like That Snare” into the sultry melody its lyrics begged for on the first album. Danny Brown and the Alchemist continue by turning vinyl to gold in a rendition of “Deadcrush.” Pusha-T and Twin Shadow leave their mark on “In Cold Blood,” completely reassembling the backbeat by pulling elements of funk, rock, electronica and, of course, hip-hop, to take alt-J’s third most popular song to a whole new level. These songs are a comforting reassurance that the band still possesses the brilliance and musical adeptness that captivated the attention of many.
All in all, you have to applaud the confidence of alt-J in their endeavor. They take risks, make statements and ultimately beg consideration of the conscious structuring of every song. Unfortunately, not all risks paid off and not all structures stuck the landing. To compensate for their noncohesive sampling, they relied too heavily on the namesake of the hip hop genre. Overall, the erratic nature of the album diluted the brilliance of the few successful tracks.
