The song Tessellate has gained the attention of Brits and Americans alike, and elevated the band to a prominence that landed them the 2012 Mercury Prize in November. As important and exciting as this may be for the artist, to me this is one of their weakest entries off the album. At first I was upset that the album only received a 4.8 rating however seeing that Laura Snapes’s reviews range between a 4 and an 8 (minus two poor showings), it doesn’t appear to me that she gets that excited about most of the work she reviews (granted she’s a far better writer than I). Pitchfork writes Alt-J as a runner-up wannabe to their accomplice comparative bands, namely Wild Beasts, referencing each band’s individualistic similarities in style and “oddly voiced singers.” Although I can appreciate folding in the word priapism to any conversation, it bothers me that the reviewer wasn’t particularly “moved” by this album. With expectations so high and anticipation ever growing for this release, I’m not surprised that this album received such low remarks from its initial critics when you’re expecting a ten and you get a nine you’re going to be disappointed, even though it’s still a nine! My immediate criticism with the big name reviewers is that it feels the reviews are seeking flaws in relation to the album and/or artist expectations, rather than concentrating independently on the music to which they are listening. The album has been in some form of production for four years and the critics have been waiting with bated breath. However that said, I’ve given the album more than a few entries on my playlist and inspected the lyrics, as Holmes inspects his clues, for obscure and obtuse relationships that may not be realized during a skin deep Pitchfork review. I feel like I’m playing catch-up to all the large industry reviews when it comes to Alt-J and the feedback of their freshman album An Awesome Wave.

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