Alt-J @o2 Apollo Manchester 20/9/14

Former Mercury Prize winners play Manchester

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since Alt J won the prestigious Mercury prize which overnight meant that the Leeds band were taken from relative obscurity to widespread acclaim which included soundtracking tv commercials.

With a packed summer of festivals there hasn’t been too much respite for the guys, rather than take a break they have been hard at work on their new album ‘ This is all Yours’ of which some of the fruits we are about to hear tonight.

Most of the reviews have spoken of a more expansive direction for the band so its of some interest to me to see how this new direction translates to a live setting.

Starting with a new track ‘Hunger of the Pine’ and the brilliant 'Fitzpleasure' its clear that the bands strengths are there for all to see from the start with their complex production strange but alluring vocals from frontman Joe Newman and infectious riffs.  It seems like they have ramped up their percussion for their live sound courtesy of Thom Green and the close harmonies are a joy to behold and this induces the first big singalong of the night.

There is a bit of a change to the bands lineup as it was reported that their bassist Gwil Sainsbury left the band earlier this year but Cameron Knight is a more than fitting replacement for him and displays his accomplished bass playing throughout the set and Gus-unger Hamilton puts on a noteperfect performance on Keys and backing vocals.

The band continue their blistering start with newbie ‘left hand free’ which is a change of tack towards a bluesy soul direction owes more than a debt to the black keys. This is followed by the delicate tones of ‘Matilda’ the closest thing the band have to a love song if there was one about a hurricane.

 

Things briefly take a more restrained tone as the band play 'bloodflood2' from their new album. This seems to come too early in the set and isn’t in tandem with their blistering start. It seems the crowd are not too interested in this tempo change in the set.  This leads into a new song ‘out of the woods’ which showcases their pastoral folky direction as the crowd again seem unsure of how to react. This is quickly remedied by two double slightly erotic tracks in 'tessellate' with its ‘Bite chunks out of me’ and 'Every Little Freckle' which is a slow building delight with its subtle arrangements accompanied by vocal gymnastics and keyboard motifs. Its slightly disappointing that the band don’t have a female choir for the choral parts, as was seen on Jools the other night- an opportunity missed maybe.

'Taro' is a key track not because of its brilliant invention from straightforward pop structure to Bollywood string section but it also shows off the bands personality and adds a bit of human feel to their performance which is sadly lacking throughout. Frontman Joe speaks for the first time of an error he made at the start of the track and this shows that the band are not robots just playing everything from the records.

This 'human' connection seems to be an on-going issue throughout their 75 minutes performance. Despite the odd pleasantries in between songs there is no banter and not too much difference to listening to audio of the band and seeing the band live. The band mainly stay in the same positions not using much of the stage which seems a little one dimensional as far as performances go.

The band encore consists of the one song that made people sit up and listen in the first place ‘ Breezeblocks’ which whips the crowd into a frenzy again and as I leave the venue I can hear the refrains of ‘Please come back I love you so’ from the gig goers so its clear that they enjoyed the evening.

What is clear from tonight's performance is that the band make songs for mind and body and are undeniably talented and they can obviously captivate an audience with their material but they could be brilliant if only they injected more personality and energy into their live performance. It’s not that they are a rubbish band but if they added those two crucial elements to their live setting they could be a major force to be reckoned with.

Return of a National Treasure

 Later.. Returns

Last night marked the return of one of the longest running live music programmes.  With its 45^th year, Later has rocked up some mileage and still remains relevant and consistent with then new and established artists it showcases.

Last night’s edition was no different with its stellar line up across the music spectrum.  On the show was new acts FKA Twigs, Jungle, Vance Joy.  This week also showcased elder statesmen including O'jays and Ryan Adams along with former Mercury Prize Winners Alt-J.

Leeds Rock trio Alt J opened the show with new bluesy soul cut ‘Left hand Free’ from their expansive follow up album to An Awesome Wave a confident opening statement. There was clearly a Black Keys influence on there but their best song was to come later.

 

West London production duo Jungle were up next and were probably the most disappointing of the acts to appear. I am a fan of Jungle funky soul throwback sound but ‘Busy Earnin’ felt a bit flat sounded much better on their debut, and the choreography was a tad cheesy more work to improve their live sound and presence needed I think although their sound might be more suited to a festival rather a small studio.

 

Classic US R&B group O’jays were a breath of fresh air with their ‘Love Train’ some of the best close harmonies on show here and the dancing wasn’t too bad either.The fact they have been together more than 50 years says how solid they are as a band. Its quite some achievement.

Canadian rocker Ryan Adams has been heavily criticized in some quarters of the music press who state that his new material is very like his close namesake Bryan Adams which is a little unfair of how he is now on his fourteenth album and through each album he has progressed musically. However the track he performed ‘Give Me Something Good’ sounded a bit like Bon Jovi and therefore a bit dated his musicianship is still something to admire though.

Then came the treat of the evening from new electro singer songwriter FKA Twigs with a spellbinding performance of ‘Two Weeks’. There are no shortage of female singer-songwriters with their icy vocals and electro production but where she stands on her own is how FKA Twigs is in total command of her performance and artistic identity. With her phenomenal vocal range and her stunning performance she is good shout for this year’s Mercury music prize.

Another suprising low key yet engrossing performance followed with Melbourne Singer Songwriter Vance Joy with his indie pop hit ‘Riptide’. The track has been on the radio for some time and is one of those songs that you constantly hum with its perfect hooks and consistent melody. It was a shame Banks couldn’t make it although maybe one more icy vocal would have been a step too far.

 

Alt J ended the show with the slightly unsettling erotic ‘Every Little Freckle’ which is another classic to add to their already full roster of ace tunes. Starting off with low key instrumentation building to a choral accompaniment and then back to its intoxicating mix of sounds and textures its blindingly ace and provides an appetizing taste of what is to come when I see them live.

That concludes another packed half hour of Later, despite the mannerisms of its host still one of the best music programs around.

 

Last nights episode still available on  BBC I Player.