Alt-J - Hunger of the Pine

Alt-J have always been an odd bunch. Their songs are oddly uplifting from the outside, but tracks on ‘An Awesome Wave’ were partly inspired by horrific Hubert Selby, Jr. novels, the grimmest tales to be put to paper. Oddities are their very lifeblood, and it’s no surprise to hear ‘Hunger of the Pine’ - an apparently off-the-cuff recording - basking in all things strange.

Record books confirm that until now, no single song had managed to mesh horn sections, drum machines and a Miley Cyrus sample. Chances are it’ll never happen again. Booming brass mimics a TNGHT ‘drop’, but it’s simmered down into a curious, typically Alt-J stature. Nothing should fit here, but somehow it possesses a structure and form. Triangles might be their favourite shape, but triangles are oddly malleable things; they arrive in different forms and exist to deceive. That’s Alt-J in a nutshell. ‘Hunger of the Pine’ maintains their ability to surprise, and then some.