Mercury Prize and Ivor Novello Award-winners alt-J are back, already dropping the second single from their hotly-anticipated third LP Relaxer. Treating fans to an album release a week earlier than planned on 2nd June, ‘In Cold Blood’, which follows lead single ‘3WW’, acts as an exciting taster of what the Leeds natives have up their sleeve for this summer.
alt-J have stuck to their winning formula in terms of psychedelic indie, yet experimented with a fuller, more dramatic sound grace à layered vocals and even a brass section. Compared to previous tracks such as ‘Tessellate’, ‘In Cold Blood’ sports a more melodic pop edge and infectious bassline, with surely some of the band’s best drumming to date. Despite this, the track still retains the trio’s distinctive quirky sound – not many artists that have sold out Madison Square Garden could pull off a chorus sung in binary code! And as for the key change? “No one is quite sure where [it] came from,” reveals the band.
Having planned over three months of touring (and headlining) some of Europe’s largest festivals – encompassing everything from Lollapalooza to Out of the Woods – alt-J have crafted the perfect accompaniment to summer 2017.
Words by Kristen Sinclair