Alt-J
Stubb�s, March 13
In the fiery wake of Nick Cave and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Alt-J faced a high bar to justify its status as headliners of Wednesday night�s NPR Music showcase. Happily, the Mercury Prize-winning quartet from Leeds, England, proved enthralling on its own terms. Regaled and derided for a cut-and-paste concoction of art rock and beats, Alt-J�s subtle nods toward early Seventies British folk humanized the group live. Joe Newman�s skittering vocals found enrichment in backing harmonies that evoked a sense of warmth amid urban desolation. Stripped of drums and electronic accoutrements, tunes like �Matilda� from 2012�s An Awesome Wave wouldn�t be out of place in a coffeehouse. Of course, it�s impossible to imagine �Tessellate� and �Something Good� inciting a Festival crowd like this to bounce in place without the whole package. The band�s innovative formula edged toward formulaic at times, most noticeably in overly consistent tempos from one song to the next. Even so, strategic tweaks in arrangements � a xylophone passage here, an Ennio Morricone spaghetti Western lick there � kept things rapt.
This article appears in March 22 • 2013.
