alt-J
3WW
Liberator/Infectious
Kicking off like a wistful, Mexican desert soundscape, alt-J have mesmerised once more by piecing a track together which draws on romantic poetry as much as film soundtracks. 3WW is taken from alt-J’s just announced third album Relaxer, out June 9.
Feeling audibly born out of the intro of a Jose Gonzalez song, 3WW holds out as something unique, lacking a verse-chorus structure; it takes the listener on a journey and reaches an emotional peak when the jarring, needy lyrics of guest vocalist, Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rosswell, allow the track to simmer in oblique mesmerisation.
In some ways, the track feels like a departure for the English trio, but then again – not at all. Having that unique seal of audible approval which sells it as an alt-J track, it is a single that takes a few tries to love, but make no mistake, the emotional culmination at the close never fails.
JOSEPH WILSON
