alt-J, The Garage, London, review: Trio prove they’re ready for the summer season

It’s a good job there are only three members of alt-J, because the stage at the infamous indie-rock venue The Garage in London is pretty cosy - and barely left an inch of room to spare for the artists and their instruments.

The intimate gig was fourth in line for the War Child Brits Week Together with The O2, which also featured the likes of Rag‘n’Bone Man and Laura Marling (in similarly small venues across the capital) to celebrate the Brit awards.

With only about 600 fans, it was probably one of the smallest gigs the Leeds indie rock band have done in quite some time, following on from the European tour they've just finished, before heading to America. Yet they gave an almost-faultless show, well, save from restarting one of their most well-known songs “Matilda”, which came right in the middle of the set. And it was practically the only bit of talking the crowd were treated to from the trio. “Let’s start that again, we f**ked it up,” admitted frontman Joe Newman.

Their almost robotic stances and minimal interaction made it feel like less of a show, and more like listening to their record in a live venue. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; the 90 minute set was purely their music, which is what most fans likely wanted - rather than constant interruptions.

Beginning with a real mixture of all three albums to date, the band opened with “Deadcrush” from their rather short 2017 album Relaxer, which embodies the spooky-type electronic music and shrill vocals they are known for. This beautifully hazy track is based on the band’s crushes on photographer Lee Miller and Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife (hence the title).

Then on to the grungy “Fitzpleasure” from their Mercury award-winning first album, An Awesome Wave; swiftly followed by the up-beat “Something Good” with its trance-y keyboard tones, from the same album.

The bohemian “Nara”, which was the first song the band worked on as a trio following the departure of their so-called silent leader, Gwil Sainsbury, who quit back in 2014, served as a nod to LGBT rights in Russia and still felt as relevant as it did four years ago.

The strongest section arrived with “Bloodflood”, “Matilda” and “Dissolve me”, where Newman encouraged the crow to bop along and get bouncing on the spot - which the crowd happily obliged to, if only temporarily. And from “Left Hand Free” right into the encore, with “Intro” from the first album, Relaxer’s opening track “3WW” and “Breezeblocks”, the crowd sang the lyrics right back at the band. alt-J have proven they’re more than capable of continuing as they are - and are ready to kick off summer festival season in style.