Artist Of The Day: Alt-J

Jump-folk, trip-folk, folkstep... if any of these ludicrously penned genre names tickle your fancy, there's a pretty good chance that Alt-J will be right up your alley. Essentially what the Leeds quartet do is take the sensibility and instrumentation of folk music and assign it an electronic production job. This melding of traditional and modern may sound like something of a culture clash, but once you've stripped away the pretentious tags it becomes clear that their ideas do have legs. Admittedly some of them could still do with a little work, but with their album An Awesome Wave they've already provided resounding evidence as to their potential. Falling somewhere in-between the subtle sexiness of Wild Beasts and The Xx whilst intersecting the awkward grooves of Bombay Bicycle Club, it's a bold and inventive statement which easily ranks among the most exciting debuts of the year. Sure it has its rough edges, but it's the type of record which should gain them both fans and momentum - and the latter should stand them in good stead once the time comes to build on its foundations.

You can stream Alt-J's debut album 'An Awesome Wave' in its entirety here.

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