An Awesome Wave
by Alt-J
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: Sep 18, 2012
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 261 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 238 out of 261
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 261
  3. Negative: 13 out of 261
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  1. PaperbagWriter
    Apr 11, 2013
    0
    Terribly overrated album. No substance whatsoever, they are trying to be weird just for the sake of being weird and by ripping off other bands styles. Meaningless lyrics. It's like they are trying to accomplish something by going through shortcuts to appeal to the mainstream, it is simply sad. People will like this band because it is "so random XD". Overproduced piece of garbage. I reallyTerribly overrated album. No substance whatsoever, they are trying to be weird just for the sake of being weird and by ripping off other bands styles. Meaningless lyrics. It's like they are trying to accomplish something by going through shortcuts to appeal to the mainstream, it is simply sad. People will like this band because it is "so random XD". Overproduced piece of garbage. I really hope this band dies. I hated this album so much that it made me come and put a negative user review as I saw only the people who liked it reviewed it.… Collapse
  2. M3chaGr4n
    Dec 5, 2012
    1
    Absolute drivel,; a mixture of whiney synth pop and mediocre melodia ....transient rock? get a grip do you even know what rock is? This is peurile. People love to give tags to things, "nerdy", "warbly", "insecure". No, this is silly voices, and whining over simple beats and "layering" is not a few chords. Jesus, is this what popular musis is becoming, different just for the sake of it withAbsolute drivel,; a mixture of whiney synth pop and mediocre melodia ....transient rock? get a grip do you even know what rock is? This is peurile. People love to give tags to things, "nerdy", "warbly", "insecure". No, this is silly voices, and whining over simple beats and "layering" is not a few chords. Jesus, is this what popular musis is becoming, different just for the sake of it with not even a nod to talent? X factor may be **** but at least it knows what it is, and winning a music prize does not make a band earth-shatteringly original or flawless. I guess i gave it 3 because a bit like Damien Hirst, they have fooled a lot of people who love to think they are all rather clever. If it were dinner i'd feed it to my dog.… Expand
  3. twiggy
    Dec 23, 2012
    0
    So underwhelming as to produce a soporific effect. The latest industry inside joke? ... Yes.

    Laura Snapes of Pitchfork said it all-- 'overstuffed and messy, and so overworked that what life there may once have been now exists as a kind of primordial paste.'
  4. rspektor
    Oct 12, 2013
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Heard of Wild Beasts? Wu Lyf?

    Well Alt-J's An Awesome Wave is a tame sloth with no lyf.

    I'd go on, but the taking and diluting of someone else's sound means I shouldn't.

    Listen to a better album.

    xoxo    … Expand
  5. PRADAPRADA
    Dec 30, 2013
    0
    An album and a band that have ripped off Leeds' finest, Wild Beasts, to a shameless, crass and pitiful extent. Derived tosh with no heart. They have come and gone now, but I shall not forget the brief time they managed to pull the wool over those less than astute publications' eyes. (looking at you NME!)
  6. Screamager
    Feb 13, 2018
    3
    Whiny, annoying, and awkward lyrics make for the best aural torture.

    I first encountered this album after it won the Mercury Music prize; an award which has been given to some downright awful music from Britain over the past 25 years. Alt-J received the prize in 2012 for their debut An Awesome Wave. Was it awesome? ...No. The first minute of this album is the best part because it    Whiny, annoying, and awkward lyrics make for the best aural torture.

    I first encountered this album after it won the Mercury Music prize; an award which has been given to some downright awful music from Britain over the past 25 years. Alt-J received the prize in 2012 for their debut An Awesome Wave. Was it awesome? ...No.

    The first minute of this album is the best part because it doesn't at all prepare you for the awfulness that is coming over the following 41 minutes. Intro starts off slow with a very gentle piano, lulling you into the belief that this an ambient record in the vein a more subdued The XX when suddenly it transitions into a dubstep-fuelled ramble from a man whose testicles are trapped in a vice. It's a jarring shift, and one which is painful to listen to.

    After the Intro there's a segue into an a capella interlude - we're not even a song in and already there's an interlude, boy this is going to be great. So we finally get to the first song on this album and are introduced to some intelligible lyrics, which is a shame because the lyrics are awful. Nonsensical ramblings about triangles, shapes, and a plethora of film references - Alt J are (on this album at least) the equivalent to a David Lynch movie written by Tommy Wiseau, in that while I can appreciate the surreal vibe it doesn't change the fact that it's absolute garbage.

    There are 14 songs on this album, but only 10 if you remove the Intro and Interludes, and each one of them sounds exactly the same. All have the same basic structure, lyrics and feel - film references, irritating singing, a tune inspired by some exotic part of the world (think Imagine Dragons crossed with Vampire Weekend) - to the extent that any chance of differentiating them I don't care for.

    Alt-J are a pretentious group. I'm not saying this because of their university background, but because of what they do. Much like Prog-Rock groups in the late 1970s they represent a society that people don't care for and the music they make isn't entertaining, it's elevator music that's uninspiring and a bore to listen to. I've tried to listen to this album multiple times, to try and let it grow on me, but it's a horrible listening experience. Also Alt-J are named after the command to make a triangle on a Mac, how pretentious is that?    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

29
#29 Most Discussed Album of 2012
40
#40 Most Shared Album of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Austin Chronicle
    Mar 13, 2013
    67
    Alt-J crafts an ethereal ocean of sound that's remarkably cohesive-at once strange and familiar.
    Read full review
  2. Expert Witness (MSN Music)
    Feb 26, 2013
    83
    This Leeds-to-Cambridge foursome's unhurried electro-mesh is always more than pleasant and half the time mildly enthralling.
    Read full review
  3. The A.V. Club
    Nov 20, 2012
    50
    An Awesome Wave washes over its beached listeners, pleasantly cooling them for a second, then making its retreat back into an ocean of sameness.
    Read full review
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