Alt J - Reduxer
alt-J’s Relaxer, released last year, satisfied their niche of genre-bending and dreamy indie rock, but they return in force with the even more creative Reduxer. At its heart it is a remix album, retooling the eight tracks of the previous album in a variety of ways with a plethora of distinct guest vocalists and producers.
Reduxer is a mixed bag. Some tracks are very similar to their original versions, while others are completely disparate and changed. A certain highlight comes with Deadcrush, my personal favourite track on the original, transformed into a dark hip-hop piece by The Alchemist and Trooko, and expertly complemented by the equally demented Danny Brown, on top form as always. Hit Me Like That Snare is another track that gets an enjoyable makeover – Jimi Charles Moody’s remix is bouncy and energetic, whereas Rejjie Snow’s is soothing and sexy. Little Simz and Pusha T are two other rap features that work extraordinarily well, and the international flair from the French rapper Lomepal and German Kontra K bring additional layers to the already complex soundscape.
There are a number of duds. Adeline’s remix, although enjoyably bassy, contains a dull and uninspired vocal feature from Paigey Cakey. Tuka’s interpretation of House of the Rising Sun is equally shallow, and some of the tracks are hard to discern from one another. Reduxer is creative and displays some impressive reimagining of the source material, but a lot of the charm also gets lost in its own complexities. It shows the group’s willingness to play around with their musical interests, which should certainly be encouraged, and I hope some of the unique and completely unexpected collaborations worm their way into their mainstream releases. An album of alt-J creating hip-hop beats for unique and up-and-coming rappers? A soothing R'n'B EP? A mixtape of foreign language ballads? Sign me up.
