On the night of their album launch, Alt-J took to the stage with an air of reserved enthusiasm. They were excited, you could tell, but seemed unwilling to show it, and this affected the energy of the show. ‘Breezeblocks’ was the undeniable high point of the evening; ‘this is THE song’ was the murmur of the Glasgow Art School Union crowd, confirming the suspicion that most folk were there for little else. The band were clearly take aback by the huge reaction to the tune, but their decision to play it reasonably early in the set – just four songs in – meant the rest of the set received a much more muted response (the delicate and beautiful ‘Matilda’ and the gritty, darker ‘Fitzpleasure’ notwithstanding). On this occasion perhaps Ctrl-Alt-Delete would be more appropriate, as a reboot of the set would do a lot to help Alt-J move forward.

alt-J (∆) Breezeblocks