Releasing their third studio album Friday, English trio Alt-J are no longer the "fresh-faced lads from Leeds" that they were so often referred to when they broke out with their critically-acclaimed debut album, An Awesome Wave, back in 2012. And with each year, they've grown more experimental.
"When we started at university we were fresh-faced and full of ideas," Gus Unger-Hamilton recently told NPR. "And we've tried to keep that spirit, but we also got better at our instruments, we also learned new instruments, and I think the experimental side of it has become a bigger thing."
Despite its short eight song tracklist, their new album RELAXER by no means plays it safe, exploring new sounds and taking risks—even making a detour to put a meditative spin on The Animals' classic "House of the Rising Sun." Psych-garage-inspired songs like "Hit Me Like That Snare" later give way to gentle acoustic ballads like "Last Year," making for an adventurous listen that will undoubtedly take people by surprise. Listen for yourself on Apple Music and via Spotify below.
