We know this time of year brings you busy bodies into difficult decisions of which holiday party to attend, where to get the best Hot Toddy, and how long can you pull off your normal sweater as an “ugly” sweater — so let Rabbits Black ease some of the decision-making tension for you. Do yourself a favor, and mosey on over to Bottom of the Hill on Tuesday, December 11, or The Fonda on Wednesday, December 12 to check out alt-J. Not convinced? LA’s Wildcat! Wildcat! are opening. Still no? Okay, the 10 p.m. show in San Francisco sold out so quickly and with such minimal press that the powers that be added an early show to satiate the demand. Now hit the jump to find out why everyone is so enamored by alt-J.
Three reasons alt-J are dancing into everyone’s hearts this holiday season:
- The four-piece, comprised of Joe Newman, Gwil Sainsbury, Thom Green, and Gus Unger-Hamilton, hide gems throughout their songs for fans who are willing to take a peak beyond their catchy tunes. alt-J derives from the short key, which prints the symbol Delta when performed on OSX. Delta appears like a triangle in the Greek alphabet. And, “triangles are [alt-J’s] favorite shape.” Delta is also short for change in mathematics – a theme played upon throughout An Awesome Wave. The album transitions from theme to theme, between styles and patterns, but still seamlessly constitutes one whole album. Which, arguably, is what tessellating is all about.
- alt-J won the Mercury Prize for their album An Awesome Wave. Their debut album draws from many genres, most notably folk, trip-hop atmosphere, and indie synth rock. Although individually, the elements that comprise An Awesome Wave are not groundbreaking, alt-J has produced something unseen in 2012: a marrying of genres in a nostalgic yet unpredictable manner.
- This is the band’s first major U.S. tour and release. alt-J are in their prime: they are touring to support a solid debut album; they’ve matured beyond the days of garage and basement shows, but haven’t bumped to the stadium circuit yet; and they’ve been a band, and performers, long enough to know how to play up a crowd. Besides, what is the point of indie music cred if you can’t be on the cutting edge?
Check out the video for “Tessellate”, and try to convince yourself you don’t need to be at one of these shows.
alt-J are hitting San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill on December 11, at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., and head south to The Fonda in Los Angeles on December 12.
Recommend this show to friends who like: Django Django, Why?, Clouddead, and Hood.
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