Alt J (∆) video – Something Good!

Up-and-coming band Alt_J (∆) arrived at the Green Man Festival on Sunday having travelled overnight from Holland in their global tour bus. It seems they have up-and-come. At the start of the year, the group was only booked for this one UK festival, since when they’ve been booked for just about all the rest.  They are now on a continuous tour which has taken them from the USA to Japan, Holland, Spain and Sweden.

As the Leeds foursome took to the stage in the Far Out Tent on Sunday afternoon the man with the mic asked people to move forward so that more people could get in. A crowd of lithe young fans wriggle their way to the front while their parents, having driven in some cases hundreds of miles to be here, are curious to see what all the fuss is about. But Alt_J (∆) are somewhat cool and there are also Musos in the crowd who want pleasure of the Fitz variety. For the first time slow hand clapping broke out as the excitement became palpable.

Appearing on stage to rapturous applause the boys opened with their signature sound and first single, Tessellate, and settled quickly into their stride with the eerie harmonies, acid drumming and speaker-busting bass that have earned them a reputation for genre-defying pop. Then followed the lyrical Matilda that leaves one yearning for more and the answering call of Breezeblocks with its hypnotic beat which somehow fulfils a longing.

Some fans wear triangles on their cheeks, others make the Alt_J delta symbol with hand signs above their heads. The Musos nod approvingly and even the parents are tapping their feet. The mellow festival atmosphere and womb like ambience of the Far Out tent were perfect for the melodic harmonies of Hand-Made and finally the meditative Taro whose lyrical, acoustic beat closed the set to thunderous appreciation.

The boys on stage look quietly pleased, if charmingly bemused.