Having made two albums of award-winning but fidgety digital folk-rock, Alt-J were ripe for evolution. The trio haven’t exactly poured a vat of chemical hair relaxer into their laptops, but on this third outing they have taken a detangling wet brush to their try-hard songcraft, leaving space for these eight oblique tracks – about death, sexual trysts, literary references, Tasmania and “loving” in one’s “own language” – to breathe more cinematically. The folk quotient remains noticeable: 3WW begins as a ballad might. Soon after, the band are reinterpreting House of the Rising Sun; there’s even an easy-going, campfire feel to the electronics. Fans may balk at the curveballs – Hit Me Like That Snare is a louche garage-rock foray – but they telegraph the self-assurance that doesn’t rely on overcomplication.
