“An Awesome Wave” Turns 14
Article ★ Kenzie Gay ★ @kenzwrites ★ 5 Minutes
In our current world of music, it can often feel like everybody’s going with the sonic grain whether they be a renowned pop artist or a local garage band. People play it safe for the sake of finances and reputation, especially in the mainstream, and I think that’s why Alt-J is such an anomaly.
Alt-J. The British indie alternative band composed of Joe Newman (guitar, bass, vox), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards, vox), and formerly Gwil Sainsbury (guitar, bass, vox) have been a solid force within experimental music that bends genres and perhaps even creates new ones altogether. Formed in 2007 in Leeds, the group formally debuted with their first studio album An Awesome Wave in the Spring of 2012 just 2 short years before Sainsbury departed from the band.
Today, An Awesome Wave turns 14 and it still stands tall as one of the best indie debut albums of the 2010s.
(left) ‘An Awesome Wave’ album art / (right) Alt-J current lineup, photographer unknownAn Awesome Wave was considered wacky and experimental even back in 2012, garnering the attentions of many across Europe for its avant-garde approach at pop music. Each song assists in developing the soundscape that the group intended to present to the world and it does it rather beautifully.
There’s track 3 titled Tessellate after the geometric term. By definition, tessellate means to cover a flat surface with a repeating pattern of geometric shapes so that there are no gaps or overlap. The group uses this as a metaphor for sexual intimacy and the physical merging of two bodies, spelling it out through lyricism that is carnally impactful and teeters the line between devotion and obsession.
“Triangles are my favorite shape. Three points where two lines meet. Toe to toe, back to back, let's go. My love, it's very late. 'Til morning comes let's tessellate” Nods at that aforementioned metaphor for sexual intimacy whereas other lines such as “Chunks of you will sink down to seals. Blubber rich in mourning. They'll nosh you up, yes, they'll nosh the love away but it's fair to say, you will still haunt me” indicate the more violent, raw aspects of the song’s themes. All of this heavy writing also happens to layer nicely with the song’s apparent presence of metallic and otherworldly sound elements, which are mostly found in the percussion realm.
Breezeblocks is another highlight of An Awesome Wave, particularly known for its violent undertones that were accentuated during 2020 on Tiktok when the song went viral amongst users who made acting videos that highlighted emotions of mania, compulsion, and danger. Thematically, the song explores the (unfortunately) common story of being so in love with someone that you’re willing to hurt them and others in order to be with them. It’s a very ‘if I can’t have you then nobody can' sort of mentality that even inattentive listeners pick up on. The lines “She may contain the urge to run away but hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks” and “Please don't go (Please don't go) I'll eat you whole (I'll eat you whole) I love you so” are very core stanzas in the song that emphasize this dark notion and it’s expanded on with the overall production of the song.
Both the instrumental and vocal aspects are very mysterious, holding an edge to it that lets listeners know this is the furthest thing from a regular love ballad. It’s wicked, it’s driven, and it’s sensual in its own fucked up way. The end of the song in particular is frenzied with overlapping vocals that hold their own weight of sorrowful rage. It’s a desperate plea from the narrator towards their lover that, on one side of the coin, is loving though needy, and on the other side of the coin it is threatening yet devotional beyond morality.
Dissolve Me is a brighter song compared to the others on the album. Lacking that animalistic, fleshly vibe that the rest of An Awesome Wave possesses, Dissolve Me is rather calming and nostalgic - in fact, it’s a pretty damn good lullaby of all things. The terminology of dissolving is used to reference the act of letting go of something whether it be trauma or life in itself within the song and it’s inspired by Joe Newman’s childhood routine where his mother would tell him bedtime stories to help him relax and release before sleep. “She makes the sound, the sound the sea makes to calm me down. She makes the sound, the sound the sea makes. I'm tired now” directly references this influence.
Though some of the sonic elements such as the heavy presence of a bass guitar and other ‘loud’ instruments near the start may juxtapose the song from its position as a lullaby, the general energy keeps it calm due to faint backing hums and Newman’s sleepy vocals that carry listeners through the remainder of Dissolve Me.
Following tracks such as Matilda, Ms, and Fitzpleasure firmly keep Alt-J and the album at large in a stance of cosmic and weird - but a weird that works. If I could, I’d do a deep dive of each and every song both on and off this album but alas, this isn’t the time or place for such a thing. That doesn’t mean I can sign off without covering one more song: Taro.
Taro is inspired by the true tragic love story of war photographers Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, a couple who died in the line of duty on their own time. The song explores their story and expands on it by discussing how it would be for them to unite in the afterlife. It is poetic and beautiful from all angles, even during lines that talk of their brutal deaths - Capa’s via landmine during the Vietnam War and Taros’ via tank collision during the Spanish Civil War years prior.
Alt-J walks listeners through the couple’s unfortunate deaths in detail with its climax being at Capa’s death in which “Le photographe est mort. 3.1415, alive no longer my amour. Faded for home May of '54” is sung, immediately followed by the falling action of the peace and reunion that comes with death: “Doors open like arms, my love. Painless with a great closeness to Capa, to Capa Capa dark after nothing. Re-united with his leg and with you, Taro, oh…”
The song closes out with a lengthy instrumental breakdown and a hauntingly beautiful arrangement of choral-like vocals that fade into silence (and the closing song, Hand-Made), representing the eerie yet tranquil vitality that death, love, and Robert and Gerda’s story has.
Following An Awesome Wave, Alt-J went on to release several more albums like This is All Yours in 2014 and The Dream in 2022. The group has stepped away from the original theme of dark rawness though they have stuck to their experimentally ‘out there’ attitude towards production and instrumentals despite the departure of former founding member Gwil Sainsbury. Fans including myself have hopes for something in the near future since it’s been over 4 years since their last release but nothing has been properly teased or announced by the band or its representatives as of publishing.
