The Dream

by 
AlbumFeb 11 / 202212 songs, 49m 27s
Art Pop Indietronica Alt-Pop
Popular Highly Rated

The body count on alt-J’s fourth album is high. At least three songs portray a death, another (“Losing My Mind”) explores the psyche of a serial killer, and “Get Better” is an intensely moving depiction of grief. That said, *The Dream* also delights in the pleasures of drinking Coke (“Bane”), instant attraction (“Powders”), and getting wasted at festivals (“U&ME”). “If you want to move people, it’s with storytelling,” singer/guitarist Joe Newman tells Apple Music. “You want to tell the best story, and that is by giving people both sides of the coin.” Here, that storytelling is set to characteristically adventurous music. The Leeds-formed trio finds improbable tessellations between pneumatic art-rock and Stravinsky, psychedelic folk and Chicago house, and Jimi Hendrix and Cormac McCarthy, binding those patterns with iron-strong hooks. “We’ve always seen ourselves as cowboy writers,” says Newman. “We don’t know how to write a pop song, but we know that we have catchy ideas. So we just sew them together, regardless of whether it makes much sense structurally. Maybe in this album, we’re also mastering the craft of writing more traditionally.” Pre-add *The Dream* now—once it’s released on February 11, the complete album will arrive in your library.

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6 / 10

The trio break out of their comfort zone with a rich collection of lush and uncharacteristically reflective songs

8 / 10

What Alt-J's The Dream lacks in heart it makes up for in style and finesse

The Mercury winners remain easy to admire but harder to fall in love with

Its strength is in packing not just alt-J’s usual futuristic twist, but a heavy side serving of nostalgia too.

Spoon are at their best on 10th album ‘Lucifer on the Sofa’, Frank Turner comes back fighting on ‘FTHC’, and Alt-J return to steady ground with ‘The Dream’

Following a five-year gap between releases, English alt-rock trio Alt-J returned with something unexpected: a focused album with a handful of traditionally structured pop songs that some could say were radio-friendly.

In a lot of ways, it feels like everything alt-J have released thus far has been weighed down by some mystical intensity, one its difficult to put your finger upon.

7.0 / 10

British trio alt-J are back with their first record in five years, and it’s a dreamy, dark, fully-developed ride.

7 / 10

alt-J have always been a curious crossover phenomenon. A band named after a keyboard shortcut, their wonk-pop melodies match the cerebral against the

The ambitious British indie crooners embrace an American sound while confronting crypto and Covid on their enjoyable fourth album

9 / 10

alt-J's new album, The Dream, is full of left-turns and what sounds like strange samples but aren't. Their best yet.

8 / 10

Alt-J may have tempered their eccentricities on 'The Dream' but there's still plenty of death and genre-bending to satisfy veteran votaries.

7.0 / 10

'The Dream' by alt-J album review by Adam Williams. The UK trio's full-length drops on February 11, 2022 via Infectious Music/Canvasback

85 %

Album Reviews: alt-J - The Dream

64 %

The fourth album from the scruffy indie band is typically mesmerising and dark, its lyrics often smart to the point of impenetrability

Mainstream gatecrashers deliver clever but sometimes plodding fourth album

Still unclassifiable, the arch experimenters excel themselves once more. New music review by Kathryn Reilly

6 / 10