Alt-J has quickly gained an audience, and rightly so. Their 2012 album, An Awesome Wave, took listeners by surprise with experimental noises and odd metaphorical lyrics (see “Breezeblocks” or “Fitzpleasure”). Gus Unger-Hamilton’s exotic voice is the band’s most distinguished quality, but their affinity for mixed, strange background sounds and instrumentals keeps every song sounding fresh and unique.
“Hunger of the Pine” begins with a soft electronic beat keeping time while Unger-Hamilton fleshes out obscure lyrics (“Sleeplessly embracing / butterflies and needles”). Violins chime in and soon the beat drops along with snippets from Miley Cyrus’s song “4×4,” specifically the line “I’m a female rebel.” This may not be quite what you expected from the fresh and creative indie rock band, and it’s anyone’s best guess why they decided to insert those words into a song that doesn’t seem to have any relation to Miley Cyrus, or for that matter, female rebels.
Regardless, the song easily engages with mesmerizing verses and unfamiliar noises, letting loose an intense and foreign rhythm.