The First Wives Club Soundtrack Music - Complete Song List ...

(I originally posted this on /MichikoAndHatchin but since that's literally an empty sub up to now, created by me also, I'm putting it here. Heavy spoilers also.)
This show is just so stylish! First, every place and city has its flair, from lonely spots in the rust-brown desert to ancient ruins and lush rainforests, from impressive skyscrapers and busy streetscapes to small village houses, slum shacks perched on the hills, and even a village on stilts in the water, Chinatowns, cable cars, trams, carnivals, circuses, bullfighting arenas, fields, markets, industrial greenhouses, you name it. And it's all so colorful too! Really, it just makes you want to pack your bags and head off to Brazil.
Second, there's the sheer variety of the character and fashion design. In contrast to how most anime series keep their characters in the same iconic outfits throughout their run, here, everyone changes clothes as frequently as you'd expect them to in real life, sometimes even within the same episode - and it's not just swapping out colors or such either, it's a genuine and visually appealing new outfit pretty much each time. The credits don't include two fashion designers for nothing! And, of course, there's the notable and realistically executed ethnic diversity, which is to this day a rarity in anime.
Last, the soundtrack. This is the only anime to feature Latin American music I've ever heard of, and it's not just the style that makes it stand out - or rather the styles, given that it freely samples many of them I'm hardly musically knowledgeable enough to name - but the execution too, with great tracks for the more quiet and melancholy moments as well as for when the action ramps up. And it certainly can't have hurt to have notable fan of Brazilian music (and general music lover) Shinichiro Watanabe handling the production!
To get the critical points I do have out of the way: For one, our leading duo gets a bit too much plot armor. The first instance of their being seemingly cornered is in Episode 2, and the last in Episode 21, and then as well as pretty much every other time they're either bailed out by Atsuko and co. (even for no apparent reason in the finale), or Michiko gets them out with her patented grab-gun-take-hostage trick - I think she uses it at least three times in total. Some episodes essentially break off in the middle of the plot, which is then never properly resumed afterwards, notably the assassin and train episodes. Furthermore, the very ending - the idea that an adult single mother Hatchin would go back on the road to an unrepentant and still fugitive (and apparently barely aged) Michiko for the thrill of it is just too much for me, and the narration is a bit of a moment killer. The obvious solution would have been for Michiko be pardoned or have been at least partially falsely accused; there are some brief hints that the latter is in fact true. I also didn't like how easily Satoshi and especially Shinsuke were taken care of before that, though some of that could be considered part of the theme. As for what the central theme actually is, I would say freedom - what that means to us, what price we are willing to pay for it, and how, in the end, our idea of it might not really be what's good for us or others.
I'll start with Michiko and Atsuko - while they may be on opposite sides of the law, they are actually very similar in their desires. They seek the freedom to pursue, and hopefully stay with, the one person who most occupies their thoughts - Michiko for Atsuko and Hiroshi for Michiko - and aren't afraid to resort to underhanded methods in their quest. They are otherwise sensible and determinedly independent, but just can't give up the chase, because they know that that one special person is really, in their heart, just waiting for someone like them to come along and set them back on track. And in the end, they both are confronted with the fact that that is quite simply not true, and perhaps never was. It's actually not so surprising that it's Atsuko who takes the realization worse - after all, she's the one who chose the right side of the law (perhaps thinking of Michiko even then?), who should be able to lead others to the light, while Michiko is just a chaotic drifter and knows it. A clear parallel is also the one-off character Vanessa Lee, who is stuck in the same rut of pining for her man, while not even having the means to find him.
In contrast to Michiko and Atsuko's obsessions with their most dear person, Hiroshi seeks to be free from responsibility to any one person or organization. He flees Monstro and Michiko for unspecified reasons (possibly he sensed the escalating gang warfare coming and wanted out to save his skin). He cozies up to Elis and then leaves her without so much as a word when Michiko starts closing in, also being hinted as an irresponsible womanizer besides that. When Michiko does manage to catch up with him, implicitly threatening to end his freedom, he's completely lost for words, a nonentity - and then, in the end, he leaves Hatchin as well to take off with yet another woman. His one apparent skill besides running away - as Michiko admits to herself in a moment of clarity, he really is a coward - is making a good impression, though we never really get to see how exactly that worked on Michiko, Satoshi and Elis.
For Hatchin, to be free is to be able to stay on the side of justice, and assert her independence and strength against those with less noble intentions. After years of abuse by her foster family, punctuated by unsuccessful breakout and resistance attempts, she may be desperate enough to rely on a complete stranger on an uncertain journey to get her out, but she is immediately adamant about rejecting Michiko's criminal lifestyle and earning her own money the legal way even at her young age, only abandoning her post when the duo is forced to flee once again - and more than once, she even puts herself in danger in the name of justice, whether that is following child dine-and-dashers all the way into their slum, diving to the bottom of a river on a dare to recover her possessions, or abandoning Michiko for life on the streets when she's had enough of her recklessness and immorality. She isn't even afraid to speak her mind to Satoshi Batista himself when she's taken by him! Only after the betrayal by the circus gang, shattering her dream of a happy, legal and self-determined life, followed by her rescue by none other than Michiko, does she accept that staying by Michiko's side is her best bet for the time being, and she accordingly starts doing her best to keep Michiko in good spirits, whether legally or less so. Then, in the after-timeskip finale, we finally see her as she's always wanted to be, happily living her life on her own terms with no one harassing her or dragging her down, and it's quite beautiful. (Well, until Michiko comes along and whisks her away once again, which I found a quite baffling development as already mentioned.)
Next, I'll turn my attention to the men, women and children of Diamandra as a whole.
The men we're acquainted with are nearly without exception gangsters, pimps, wannabes, or flakes, whose ideas of liberty have one thing in common - having to answer to no one, and asserting their own power over others. This of course takes different forms, though common elements are inflicting violence on their enemies and keeping control of "their" women. Bruno is the most benign of them all (besides Hiroshi, whom I already mentioned, and Hatchin's absent baby-daddy in the finale), charming woman after woman with his looks and flirtiness, while his (foreign?) wife has little chance to stop him, only to abandon them when it stops being fun. Hatchin's foster father styles himself as a wholesome authority figure, but behind the facade is a cynical abuser who merely seems to enjoy his status, just like the quack doctor Hatchin hires out of desperation to "treat" Michiko. Pepe Lima's club boss doesn't even bother with appearances, blatantly lording over her as just another one of his possessions. Satoshi is the classic gangster type - just like most other criminals we meet, from slum child gang bosses to Chinese triad outfits - occupying himself with maintaining the power of his gang and his position at the top while ordering (and sometimes executing) violent punishment of those he feels have wronged him and the gang; Shinsuke is Satoshi's more sadistic and unhinged cousin, torturing and playing sick games with his victims, unafraid to backstab his former boss and team up with his former rivals to rise to power, perhaps the purest expression in the series of the desire to dominate and violate, and the formerly retired assassin briefly set on Michiko's trail for one more job is similar. The unnamed obese Fantasma boss and the impostor Satoshi we briefly meet, on the other hand, manage to impose their will simply on the strength of their reputation, with no need or desire to really act at all. (An interesting footnote is the father of Vanessa Lee, who meets his doom trying to "conquer" the treasure of an ancient pyramid.)
Ultimately, we see that their lifestyles can never lead to true fulfillment; either they end up eternally on the run a la Hiroshi, until perhaps one day they no longer can, or they stay trapped in a life of endless violence and crime until the law or their competitors catch up with them for a likely equally violent end, just like Satoshi, his imitator and Shinsuke. And when the reckoning finally comes and they're the ones with the gun to the head, with no one left to take the bullet for them, all their bluster and tough talk evaporates, leaving them a pathetic wreck desperately begging for mercy, or merely makes them look ridiculous; without power, they are nothing.
The women, on the other hand, are defined by their efforts, or lack of such, to reject the pressure of this toxic environment and gain a measure of independence. Those who have always aimed to live their life outside the (female) norm, like Michiko, Atsuko and eventually Hatchin do fairly well, each finding their own separate if somewhat lonely niche where they can succeed, as does Elis. Those who accept the status quo become passive or active accomplices; Hatchin's foster mother, Bruno's wife, the various gangsters' girlfriends/wives, the woman at the circus, they all enjoy the supposed privilege of a "respectable" position in exchange for non-interference (and in some cases humiliation). Trying to escape this dynamic after it has been established, though, is a recipe for disaster, as the tale of Pepe Lima and her sister shows us; once you're in, there's no way out.
As for the children, they are largely tragic characters: In the toxic environment of the Diamandran slums and streets, the experience of childhood as we understand it simply does not exist. Instead, children are molded into miniature adults, gladly sharing the adults' aspirations and principles, never knowing much of innocence, play, or a healthy family life. They are the abusive sibling companions to their parents' phony righteousness, petty thieves, gun-toting gang foot soldiers, strip club hangarounds, junior tough-talking river pirates, hard-working circus performers (and waiters and unwilling housekeepers, in Hatchin's case). Girls like Rita pine for male affection, even from adults, before even reaching their teenage years; boys like Massan in turn are already fiercely possessive of their actual or supposed girlfriends to the point of threatening violence.
Finally, for several characters, a liberated existence notably involves some degree of queerness, in which I include gender nonconformity. The most obvious example is the female-playing Chinese opera actor and his apparently full-time-crossdressing son who aims to succeed him, also notable as a gentle, kind, quasi-feminine single parent and verbal instead of violent persuader; there's also Elis who first has a brief fling with Hiroshi, a mere farmhand at the time, as the real power in the relationship, and then has no qualms about an enthusiastic kissing embrace of Michiko that surprises her just as much as the viewers; and the nameless (?) apparent gay couple acquainted with Michiko and assisting her in episodes 5/6. Michiko herself has some shades of this, reversing the old man-chasing-after-ideal-woman trope and acting more like one of the impetuous, unrestrained men of the country than any woman we meet (while however remaining decidedly feminine, mostly) - her rescue of Hatchin in masculine bullfighting gear is also a standout role-reversal moment; Atsuko's feelings for Michiko in turn are more reminiscent of a spurned lover's than a former friend, and she notably never displays any interest in men, romantic or otherwise. Hatchin is near-universally read as a boy with her short hair, ambiguous nickname and dress, determined and forceful character, and occasional grumpiness and temper, displayed impressively for example in a, dare I say, baby-tsundere fashion in response to the somewhat feminine Lenine's gentle affection - while on the other hand, she also enthusiastically embraces motherhood in the finale. Well, it's complicated.
All these characters together, their dreams and aspirations, fulfilled, supplanted or crushed, join the amazing character, sound and setting design to paint a colorful picture of a society where there is much darkness and cruelty, but ultimately for many also a ray of hope. Great, if imperfect, anime, and a fitting companion for example to Samurai Champloo, where director Sayo Yamamoto had her first major creative involvement. Let's not forget, however, that in contrast to the dystopian Edo Japan of that show, the world of Michiko & Hatchin is recent enough to represent the reality of many unfortunate people to this day, and likely into the future as well; one can only hope that, eventually, that real-life toxicity and cruelty will pass as well.

This show is just so stylish! First, every place and city has its flair, from lonely spots in the rust-brown desert to ancient ruins and lush rainforests, from impressive skyscrapers and busy streetscapes to small village houses, slum shacks perched on the hills, and even a village on stilts in the water, Chinatowns, cable cars, trams, carnivals, circuses, bullfighting arenas, fields, markets, industrial greenhouses, you name it. And it's all so colorful too! Really, it just makes you want to pack your bags and head off to Brazil.
Second, there's the sheer variety of the character and fashion design. In contrast to how most anime series keep their characters in the same iconic outfits throughout their run, here, everyone changes clothes as frequently as you'd expect them to in real life, sometimes even within the same episode - and it's not just swapping out colors or such either, it's a genuine and visually appealing new outfit pretty much each time. The credits don't include two fashion designers for nothing! And, of course, there's the notable and realistically executed ethnic diversity, which is to this day a rarity in anime.
Last, the soundtrack. This is the only anime to feature Latin American music I've ever heard of, and it's not just the style that makes it stand out - or rather the styles, given that it freely samples many of them I'm hardly musically knowledgeable enough to name - but the execution too, with great tracks for the more quiet and melancholy moments as well as for when the action ramps up. And it certainly can't have hurt to have notable fan of Brazilian music (and general music lover) Shinichiro Watanabe handling the production!
To get the critical points I do have out of the way: For one, our leading duo gets a bit too much plot armor. The first instance of their being seemingly cornered is in Episode 2, and the last in Episode 21, and then as well as pretty much every other time they're either bailed out by Atsuko and co. (even for no apparent reason in the finale), or Michiko gets them out with her patented grab-gun-take-hostage trick - I think she uses it at least three times in total. Some episodes essentially break off in the middle of the plot, which is then never properly resumed afterwards, notably the assassin and train episodes. Furthermore, the very ending - the idea that an adult single mother Hatchin would go back on the road to an unrepentant and still fugitive (and apparently barely aged) Michiko for the thrill of it is just too much for me, and the narration is a bit of a moment killer. The obvious solution would have been for Michiko be pardoned or have been at least partially falsely accused; there are some brief hints that the latter is in fact true. I also didn't like how easily Satoshi and especially Shinsuke were taken care of before that, though some of that could be considered part of the theme.
As for what the central theme actually is, I would say freedom - what that means to us, what price we are willing to pay for it, and how, in the end, our idea of it might not really be what's good for us or others.
I'll start with Michiko and Atsuko - while they may be on opposite sides of the law, they are actually very similar in their desires. They seek the freedom to pursue, and hopefully stay with, the one person who most occupies their thoughts - Michiko for Atsuko and Hiroshi for Michiko - and aren't afraid to resort to underhanded methods in their quest. They are otherwise sensible and determinedly independent, but just can't give up the chase, because they know that that one special person is really, in their heart, just waiting for someone like them to come along and set them back on track. And in the end, they both are confronted with the fact that that is quite simply not true, and perhaps never was. It's actually not so surprising that it's Atsuko who takes the realization worse - after all, she's the one who chose the right side of the law (perhaps thinking of Michiko even then?), who should be able to lead others to the light, while Michiko is just a chaotic drifter and knows it. A clear parallel is also the one-off character Vanessa Lee, who is stuck in the same rut of pining for her man, while not even having the means to find him.
In contrast to Michiko and Atsuko's obsessions with their most dear person, Hiroshi seeks to be free from responsibility to any one person or organization. He flees Monstro and Michiko for unspecified reasons (possibly he sensed the escalating gang warfare coming and wanted out to save his skin). He cozies up to [tomato lady] and then leaves her without so much as a word when Michiko starts closing in, also being hinted as an irresponsible womanizer besides that. When Michiko does manage to catch up with him, implicitly threatening to end his freedom, he's completely lost for words, a nonentity - and then, in the end, he leaves Hatchin as well to take off with yet another woman. His one apparent skill besides running away - as Michiko admits to herself in a moment of clarity, he really is a coward - is making a good impression, though we never really get to see how exactly that worked on Michiko, Satoshi and Elis.
For Hatchin, to be free is to be able to stay on the side of justice, and assert her independence and strength against those with less noble intentions. After years of abuse by her foster family, punctuated by unsuccessful breakout and resistance attempts, she may be desperate enough to rely on a complete stranger on an uncertain journey to get her out, but she is immediately adamant about rejecting Michiko's criminal lifestyle and earning her own money the legal way even at her young age, only abandoning her post when the duo is forced to flee once again - and more than once, she even puts herself in danger in the name of justice, whether that is following child dine-and-dashers all the way into their slum, diving to the bottom of a river on a dare to recover her possessions, or abandoning Michiko for life on the streets when she's had enough of her recklessness and immorality. She isn't even afraid to speak her mind to Satoshi Batista himself when she's taken by him! Only after the betrayal by the circus gang, shattering her dream of a happy, legal and self-determined life, followed by her rescue by none other than Michiko, does she accept that staying by Michiko's side is her best bet for the time being, and she accordingly starts doing her best to keep Michiko in good spirits, whether legally or less so. Then, in the after-timeskip finale, we finally see her as she's always wanted to be, happily living her life on her own terms with no one harassing her or dragging her down, and it's quite beautiful. (Well, until Michiko comes along and whisks her away once again, which I found a quite baffling development as already mentioned.)
Next, I'll turn my attention to the men, women and children of Diamandra as a whole.
The men we're acquainted with are nearly without exception gangsters, pimps, wannabes, or flakes, whose ideas of liberty have one thing in common - having to answer to no one, and asserting their own power over others. This of course takes different forms, though common elements are inflicting violence on their enemies and keeping control of "their" women. Bruno is the most benign of them all (besides Hiroshi, whom I already mentioned, and Hatchin's absent baby-daddy in the finale), charming woman after woman with his looks and flirtiness, while his (foreign?) wife has little chance to stop him, only to abandon them when it stops being fun. Hatchin's foster father styles himself as a wholesome authority figure, but behind the facade is a cynical abuser who merely seems to enjoy his status, just like the quack doctor Hatchin hires out of desperation to "treat" Michiko. Pepe Lima's club boss doesn't even bother with appearances, blatantly lording over her as just another one of his possessions. Satoshi is the classic gangster type - just like most other criminals we meet, from slum child gang bosses to Chinese triad outfits - occupying himself with maintaining the power of his gang and his position at the top while ordering (and sometimes executing) violent punishment of those he feels have wronged him and the gang; Shinsuke is Satoshi's more sadistic and unhinged cousin, torturing and playing sick games with his victims, unafraid to backstab his former boss and team up with his former rivals to rise to power, perhaps the purest expression in the series of the desire to dominate and violate, and the formerly retired assassin briefly set on Michiko's trail for one more job is similar. The unnamed obese Fantasma boss and the impostor Satoshi we briefly meet, on the other hand, manage to impose their will simply on the strength of their reputation, with no need or desire to really act at all. (An interesting footnote is the father of Vanessa Lee, who meets his doom trying to "conquer" the treasure of an ancient pyramid.)
Ultimately, we see that their lifestyles can never lead to true fulfillment; either they end up eternally on the run a la Hiroshi, until perhaps one day they no longer can, or they stay trapped in a life of endless violence and crime until the law or their competitors catch up with them for a likely equally violent end, just like Satoshi, his imitator and Shinsuke. And when the reckoning finally comes and they're the ones with the gun to the head, with no one left to take the bullet for them, all their bluster and tough talk evaporates, leaving them a pathetic wreck desperately begging for mercy; without power, they are nothing.
The women, on the other hand, are defined by their efforts, or lack of such, to reject the pressure of this toxic environment and gain a measure of independence. Those who have always aimed to live their life outside the (female) norm, like Michiko, Atsuko and eventually Hatchin do fairly well, each finding their own separate if somewhat lonely niche where they can succeed, as does Elis. Those who accept the status quo become passive or active accomplices; Hatchin's foster mother, Bruno's wife, the various gangsters' girlfriends/wives, the woman at the circus, they all enjoy the supposed privilege of a "respectable" position in exchange for non-interference (and in some cases humiliation). Trying to escape this dynamic after it has been established, though, is a recipe for disaster, as the tale of Pepe Lima and her sister shows us; once you're in, there's no way out.
As for the children, they are largely tragic characters: In the toxic environment of the Diamandran slums and streets, the experience of childhood as we understand it simply does not exist. Instead, children are molded into miniature adults, gladly sharing the adults' aspirations and principles, never knowing much of innocence, play, or a healthy family life. They are the abusive sibling companions to their parents' phony righteousness, petty thieves, gun-toting gang foot soldiers, strip club hangarounds, junior tough-talking river pirates, hard-working circus performers (and waiters and unwilling housekeepers, in Hatchin's case). Girls like Rita pine for male affection, even from adults, before even reaching their teenage years; boys like Massan in turn are already fiercely possessive of their actual or supposed girlfriends to the point of threatening violence.
Finally, for several characters, a liberated existence notably involves some degree of queerness, in which I include gender nonconformity. The most obvious example is the female-playing Chinese opera actor and his apparently full-time-crossdressing son who aims to succeed him, also notable as a gentle, kind, quasi-feminine single parent and verbal instead of violent persuader; there's also Elis who first has a brief fling with Hiroshi, a mere farmhand at the time, as the real power in the relationship, and then has no qualms about an enthusiastic kissing embrace of Michiko that surprises her just as much as the viewers; and the nameless (?) apparent gay couple acquainted with Michiko and assisting her in episodes 5/6. Michiko herself has some shades of this, reversing the old man-chasing-after-ideal-woman trope and acting more like one of the impetuous, unrestrained men of the country than any woman we meet (while however remaining decidedly feminine, mostly) - her rescue of Hatchin in masculine bullfighting gear is also a standout role-reversal moment; Atsuko's feelings for Michiko in turn are more reminiscent of a spurned lover's than a former friend, and she notably never displays any interest in men, romantic or otherwise. Hatchin is near-universally read as a boy with her short hair, ambiguous nickname and dress, determined and forceful character, and occasional grumpiness and temper, displayed impressively for example in a, dare I say, baby-tsundere fashion in response to the somewhat feminine Lenine's gentle affection - while on the other hand, she also enthusiastically embraces motherhood in the finale. Well, it's complicated.
All these characters together, their dreams and aspirations, fulfilled, supplanted or crushed, join the amazing character, sound and setting design to paint a colorful picture of a society where there is much darkness and cruelty, but ultimately for many also a ray of hope. Great, if imperfect, anime, and a fitting companion for example to Samurai Champloo, where director Sayo Yamamoto had her first major creative involvement. Let's not forget, however, that in contrast to the dystopian Edo Japan of that show, the world of Michiko & Hatchin is recent enough to represent the reality of many unfortunate people to this day, and likely into the future as well; one can only hope that, eventually, that real-life toxicity and cruelty will pass as well.

I wrote the below write-up in an effort to persuade some friends of mine to joinme in seeing Alt-J live with me. Postingit here because I thought the sub might enjoy it. Feel free to share your own thoughts!
Why I Love This Band (and why you should join me in seeing them)
A Comprehensive Look into the Works of Alt-J
I’ve been toying with the idea of writing something like this for a while now. Ultimately, I decided that it’s a good idea even if no one ever reads it, as it will help me cement the general feelings I’ve formed regarding Alt-J over the past two years. The following paragraphs will cover a brief history of the band, and then delve into my experience of their music, and comments on each of Alt-J’s three albums. I’ve done my best to keep this brief, as I could likely write paragraphs, in some cases pages, on each track, and how they reference one another. If anyone ever wants to go down that rabbit hole, I’ll be happy to oblige another time! In the end, my hope is that this will persuade at least a few of you to join me in seeing them.
Alt-J was formed in 2007 by four friends out of Leeds University in England: Joe Newman (guitalead vocals)Gwil Sainsbury (guitabass), Thom Sonny Green (drums) and Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals). Sainsbury left the band after the first album, and the three remaining founding members have comprised the band since then. Their name refers the keyboard shortcut for Delta (∆) on Apple computers. For this reason, sometimes you will see their name stylized as “∆”.
The band’s genre can be loosely defined as indie/alternative rock, but is overall difficult for me to categorize. This should become apparent as I get deeper into their discography. I started following them in 2015, after I purchased a pass to Lollapalooza in Chicago, where they were playing. At the time, I was vaguely aware of them through their more mainstream radio tracks. At first listen, most people (myself included) notice Joe Newman’s unique singing voice: generally higher pitched, slightly nasal, oddly accented, and often incomprehensible. I know this might not seem like the best way to introduce a band who I’m trying to persuade people to see live! Just trust me, this odd style works amazingly well! The first rule of getting into Alt-J, to loosely paraphrase 89.3 The Current’s Mark Wheat, is to understand that sometimes you aren’t supposed to be able to understand what he is singing
No other band I’ve listened to does such a great job at combining fantastic lyrics, linguistic variety, intriguing themes, a unique/strange sounds, and provocative music videos. Thematically, they draw from wide-breath of inspirations, ranging from pop culture, to history, and literature. This gives their music a layered quality; it sounds great for casual listening, but if you really want to dig into their songs there is an almost ridiculous amount of information to digest. This depth is one of the reasons why I enjoy Alt-J so much.
Album 1: An Awesome Wave
Released in 2011, An Awesome Wave strikes with the immediate originality of Alt-J’s sound. The first track, titled simply Intro (beware: currently Google links the intro track to their second album as this Intro) is a commentary on the fickleness of the music industry, which is certainly an odd foot for a band to start off on. The track starts off with a simple piano solo, then hits hard with the entry of the guitar, followed by the addition of Newman’s unique vocals. This album’s most well-known tracks are probably Tessellate, Breezeblocks, and Something Good. While I thoroughly enjoy the entire album there are a few standout points for me.
Ripe and Ruin: This acapella piece, and showcases the vocal talent of both Newman and Unger-Hamilton. It also introduces one common theme in Atl-J’s songs, watedrowning. This will be important later.
Breezeblocks: is incredibly catchy. It invokes a feeling of desperation to hold onto a love interest, even to the point of damaging that person in the process. This song prominently references the prolific children’s’ book Where the Wild Things Are (“Do you know where the wild things go they go along to take your honey”; “Please don’t go, I’ll eat you whole I love you so, I love you, so I love you so”). The music video Breezeblocks is certainly worth a watch. I suggest watching both the “backward” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVeMiVU77wo) and “forward” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVS5l0FuHA) versions, in that order. Suffice it to say it they do a great job in turning over preconceptions/prejudices of the viewer.
Something Good: This gives us the first taste of Alt-J’s love of referencing multiple cultural themes, and experimenting with different languages. The song tells the story of the dying moments of a matador who’s been gored by a bull. The Spanish term “estocada” is used, which is translates to “thrust” and references the act of stabbing the bull in the ring.
Fitzpleasure: Perhaps Alt-J’s most provocative track. The song is a reference to the book Hubert Selby Jr.’s 1964 novel Last Exit to Brooklyn. This is a perfect example of one of the cases where Newman’s lyrics are intentionally garbled. The subject matter is very dark; the entire song recalls a prominent scene in the novel in which the prostitute Tralala is gang raped, and sodomized with a broomstick. Hence, the opening lyric is “In your snatch fits pleasure, broom-shaped pleasure”. Yeah, probably not something you want people to hear you sing coherently. On its face, you would never guess the song is so disturbing. It’s very catchy, and has a few great hooks. This is an example of the layers that Alt-J provides listeners.
Taro: Personally one of my favorite Alt-J songs, is a history lesson. It recounts the love story of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, who were both war photographers. Taro died in 1937 while on assignment in the Spanish Civil War. Capa went on to become a prominent WWII photographer, famous for his photographs of D-Day. He was killed by a landmine on May 25, 1954, in Vietnam. The lyrics explore Capa’s dying moments, and depict his becoming closer to Taro as he approaches death. The lyrics are unique, strange, and beautifully crafted. Though the song is about death, it’s ultimately a great celebration of both Taro and Capa’s lives. If you want to see me cry, playing this song is generally a safe bet!
Album 2: This is All Yours
This is probably my favorite of Alt-J’s three albums. While it probably has fewer prominent tracks, it holds together really well as a full work. It with the departure of guitarist Gwil Sainsbury, it successfully continued the signature sound of the band, and cemented them as prominent players in the music industry. Here are some standout portions.
Arrival in Nara: Nara is a major theme in this album; and it’s most likely a reference to the famous Japanese park known for its tame deer, who are said to be sacred. This track, which starts with a tranquil piano/guitar duet, depicts the drowning of a woman only named as “her”. It’s unclear what the song is about, but I see it as a metaphor for personal struggle: possibly addiction, depression, cancer, or something similar. For this reason, the song packs an emotional punch, as we all likely know someone who has suffered from such a malady, and was ultimately overcome, like the woman in the song.
Nara : This track again steps into sexually provocative territory, albeit relatively tame in comparison to Breezeblocks. Nara juxtaposes traditionally at-odds ideals of homosexuality and Christianity. One only needs to hear the first line “I'm gonna marry a man like no othe Light the fuse, hallelujah, hallelujah”. Later, Newman and Unger-Hamilton chant “Hallelujah, Bovay, Alabama”. Bovay references the founder of the Republican Party, Alvan Bovay, and Alabama being one of the states who is least hospitable to the LGBT community. So far as I know, none of the band members are gay, but I really like the dissonance this song depicts.
Left Hand Free: If you know one Alt-J song, this is probably it! It’s a pretty straight-forward song about a prohibition-era bar fight, set to a feel-good tune.
Hunger of the Pine: This song depicts the longing (pine) of the narrator for an unrequited love. It contains the rather surprising sample of samples Miley Cyrus from her song 4X4 (“I’m a female rebel”). It’s also another example of Alt-J drawing on literature and language, in the French lines, “Une immense espérance a traversé la terre/ Une immense espérance a traversé ma peur”, which translates to, “Great hope has crossed the earth. A great hope has crossed my fear”. These are lines in French poet Alfred de Musset’s poem L'espoir en Dieu (Hope in God).
Note:The music video is good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCCXq9QB-dQ
Pusher and Blood Flood Part II: I’m combining these two because they are a great example of how Alt-J is adept at creating a cohesive album. Pusher draws on similar subject matter as Hunger of the Pine, opening with, “If you're willing to wait for the love of your life/Please wait by the line”, followed closely by, “The idea of life without company fell suddenly/It crashed through the ceiling on me/And pinned me to the pine.” Pusher also references “her”, possibly referring to the same woman from Arrival in Nara. The song contains a set of prominent chords throughout. Apologetically, I have no idea what they are musically, but they exits as 7 notes that become very prominent at the end of the track. Those chords then carry over into Blood Flood Part II: It's a fantastic transition! It takes the longing and melancholy that Pusher ends with, and lets it flow into the next song. Those chords then crescendo into a strong bass hit, followed by the horns that hit with the lyrics. This is obviously only apparent if you listen to the songs in order, and adds a greater depth the entire album.
Note: The music video for Pusher is compelling, and fantastic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmnZHudtzXg
Album 3: Relaxer
Released in June of 2017, this is the latest addition to Alt-J’s discography. It takes a more experimental tone. Admittedly, it took me a bit to really get into this album, but I can now report that it has its claws securely sunk into my psyche! It departs from the format of their first two albums, doing away with a named intro track, as well as interlude pieces. The best way I can describe this album as a whole is that each song feels like it is part of its own universe. It’s as if each track was plucked from a soundtrack of wholly unrelated movies. The sound that’s struck is generally epic, featuring deep instrumentals, and large swells of sound. I’m going to cover most of the album, here, but in a little less detail than my comments on the tracks above. If you’ve made it this far, great!
3WW: The title characters stand for “Three Worn Words”, a line from the song, which are presumably referring to “I love you”. While there is not named intro track, this song’s first few minutes basically take up that mantle. The opening instrumentals are vaguely Hispanic, which is echoed in the music video for the song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwBkXgWNs_M), which generally juxtaposes the lyrical theme. This song features outstanding female vocals by Ellie Rowsell of the band Wolf Alice. Her entrance on “Girls from the pool say ‘hi’”, alone, would make this track memorable. There is a whole lot more to like here, though.
In Cold Blood: This one is fun. Vaguely reminiscent of a Ska sound, this song accounts a pool party turned murder scene, and features a fantastic horns section. I highly recommend this Sound Exploder podcast, which breaks down the creation of the song: http://songexploder.net/alt-j
Note: This song has great music video as well. Suffice it to say it’s content is very unexpected, but it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP0uuI80wuY
House of the Rising Sun: A lot of people try to call this a cover of prolific song by The Animals. It’s not. This track is entirely different, and simply plays off the same folk-material the more famous recording was based off of. While the opening is probably longer than it needs to be, this song features remarkable musical swells, and offers an intriguing perspective on the subject matter.
Hit Me Like That Snare: This one is weird. The sound reminds me a lot of The Doors, and its subject matter is hilariously obscene. A reading of the lyrics quickly lays apparent that it is about a visit to a sado-masochistic sex club. It again plays on Alt-J’s love of incorporating different languages, with some of the lyrics being in Japanese. Albeit an unusual turn for the band, it showcases their raw musical talent, and stylistic range. It seems like they had a really good time recording this one.
Deadcrush: Allegedly, this song is a play on a game that the band plays while tossing back a few beers: naming their “deadcrush”, or historical dead person who you have a crush on. The base in this song is classic, and the subject matter is unique. The song features two “deadcrushes”. First is Lee Miller, the well-known photographer (I guess they have a thing for photographers). The song opens with the line “Extraordinarily pretty teeth”, which is a direct quote of Miller’s that refers to the teeth of one of her subjects. The second deadcrush is Anne Boleyn, one of the ill-fated wives of King Henry VIII. She is referred to as her Latinized name “Ana Bolina”. Her portion of the song contains what is probably my favorite line of the album, “Unknown artist/ Took your likeness/ Henry Tudor left you lifeless”. It strikes a tone of dark humor, which I love.
Note: This one also has a good music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOJUNJ1o394
Adeline: Remember how I said this album sounds like each song is from the soundtrack of a different movie? Well Adeline was loosely based on the theme from the 1998 movie The Thin Red Line. The band is on the record as saying the track is about a Tasmanian devil, who falls in love with a woman he sees swimming. That said, there are interesting parallels between this song, Ripe and Ruin, and Arrival in Nara. My interpretation is that Adeline is the name of the woman mentioned in the two previous tracks. This is certainly not confirmed, but honestly I don’t care if the similarities are intentional, or not. It’s just works so well that I’m going to stick with that idea.
Last Year: This song covers the last year of the narrator’s life after a breakup that ultimately leads to his suicide by drowning in the Mississippi. While I enjoy the entire track, it really shines in the second half, which features vocals by Marika Hackman. Give it a listen, and read the lyrics. There are some gems in there!
Pleader: Another semi-obscure literary reference! This song refers to Richard Llewellyn’s 1939 novel How Green Was My Valley. It’s written as a choir hymn, and has instrumental portions reminiscent to sections of Adeline and Last Year. It really hits its stride about midway through with a chill-inducing, dark, synthesized base portion. I can’t really adequately describe it; you’ll just have to give it a listen!
If you made it all the way through this write up, I sincerely thank you for reading! In case you couldn’t tell, I’m very passionate about Alt-J’s music. If I can pass on even a little bit of that passion to anyone else, I’ll be happy!

I've got tons of records looking for a new home. I'm really trying to slim down my 7" collection, so for every $25 you spend (before shipping), you can have a $5 or under 7" for free. Thanks for looking!
Shipping is a flat $4 no matter how much you buy.
7”
Au - Solid Gold $1
The Baptist Generals - Fly Candy Harvest flexi $1
Big Business – Blacker Holes flexi $7
Birthmark – Suit of Armor flexi $3
Black Lips/Icky Blossoms – Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys $5
Born Ruffians – Slow flexi $4
Bowerbirds – In The Yard $1
Brendan Benson – What Kind of World $1
Cheap Time – Live at Third Man $3
Conor Oberst – Hundreds of Ways $5
Conor Oberst – Hundreds of Ways (TEST PRESS) $40
Daniel Johnston – Flower (flexi) $10
DestroyeWye Oak split $1
The Dirtbombs – Merit $4
Dirt Fisherman – Tattoo $2
DM Stith – War Machine flexi $4
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Community $4
Fang Island – Starquake flexi $4
Grand Archives – Sleepdriving (alt. mix) $1
Half Japanese – On The Town $7
Half Japanese – Refreshing $10
Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp) – Further Complications $4
Javelin – Coleridge $2
Joan of Arc – Many Times I’ve Mistaken $2
John Lennon/Yoko Ono – Woman $1
The Killers – Human $4
The Magnetic Fields – I Don’t Believe You $7
Marnie Stern – Is My Name flexi $5
The Marshmallow Ghosts – Corpse Reviver Vol. 1 (Record club and normal edition) $6 each
Mike Adams at his Honest Weight – Not No More flexi $3
Miniature Tigers – Gold Skull $20
Mogwai – Tell Everybody That I Love Them $5
My Brightest Diamond – I Have Never Loved Someone $2
The New Pornographers – Togetherness $3
Nic Armstrong – Broken Mouth Blues EP $1
Night School – Heart Beat EP (hand poured/numbered Record club edition) $9
Of Montreal – ID Engager $2
Of Montreal – She’s a Rejector $2
Okkervil River - Your Past Life as a Blast $2
Pretty Worms – Acid $2
Rob Crow (of Pinback) – Perflexed flexi $1
Saintseneca – Uppercutter $2
School of Seven Bells - Kiss Them For Me (/600) $12
The Sea and Cake - Flores $5
Serengeti – Museum Day flexi $5
The Shins - Nothing At All $1
Smoke Fairies – Sunshine $1
Soft Black – Pearl with no String $1
The Space Project 7x7” box set (Jesu, Beach House, Spiritualized, Mutual Benefit, The Antlers, etc) $40
Spoon – Written in Reverse $3
Surfer Blood – Floating Vibes $2
Suspicious Beasts – Sunshine in the Trash $7
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl $1 (pretty noisy, could use a good cleaning)
The Vaselines – Sex With An X $1
Wavves – Hippies is Punks postcard flexi $2
We Were Promised Jetpacks – Medicine $2
WhirAnne split 2x7" set $8
Why? – Ezra Benus flexi $4
Wilco – I Might $3
Wilco – You Never Know $6
Wives – Wives $1
Yip Deciever – Slide Away flexi $3
12”
Adventure – Lesser Known $5
Anne – Pulling Chain (white) $4
The Autumn Defense – Once Around $8
Bad Brains – Rock For Light (first press, 1” seam split on top, generic inner sleeve) $18
Baha Men – Who Let The Dogs Out single $1,895.00
Band of Horses – Mirage Rock $10
Beachwood Sparks – The Tarnished Gold $11
Birds of Avalon – S/T $5
Black Flag – Loose Nut (OP, top has 1” seam split) $10
Blakroc – S/T $75
Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding $2
Booker T. – Potato Hole $18
Boris – Attention Please $8
Buffalo Springfield – Retrospective $3
Built to Spill – Ultimate Alternative Wavers (sealed) $16
Call Me Lightning – When I Am Gone My Blood Will Be Free $8
Calvin Johnson – Before The Dream Faded $7
Calvin Johnson – What Was Me $14
Castanets – City of Refuge $6
Collections of Colonies of Bees – Giving (pink/black haze) $7
Constants – Pasiflora (white /100) $10
The (Ex) Cat Heads – Our Frisco $6
Damien Jurado & Gathered in Song – I Break Chairs (signed by Damien) $50
Damien Jurado – Where Shall You Take Me? (reissue) $12
Damien Jurado – On My Way To Absence $18
Damien Jurado – Four Songs $8
David Bowie – Let’s Dance $2
Devo – Duty Now For The Future (perforated cover untouched) $7
Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet on Sky $10
The Dirtbombs – Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-Blooie! (bubblegum pink vinyl) $20
The Dø – A Mouthful (first press, sleeve is a little worn) $50
Dust Moth – Dragon Mouth (swamp green vinyl /314) $10
Dutch Mason Blues Band – The Blues Ain’t Bad $6
Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket – In a Dutch Haze (yellow vinyl) $18
Echo And The Bunnymen – S/T 5 track mini album (cover is pretty thrashed) $1
Echo And The Bunnymen – Heaven Up Here (’81 original) $10
Efrim Menuck (of Godspeed You! Black Emperor) – High Gospel $12
Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Doomsday EP $9
Eric Dolphy – At The Five Spot, Vol. 1 $11
The Flaming Lips – The Flaming Lips EP (signed by Wayne) $17
Fear of Men – Loom $10
Foals – Holy Fire (gold, includes 7”) $20
Franz Ferdianand – You Could Have It So Much Better $15
Futurebirds – Seney-Stovall (sealed) $7
Harlan T. Bobo – Sucker $10
The Henry Clay People – Twenty-Five For The Rest of Our Lives $5
Hot Chip – Made in the Dark $20
Hot Chip – One Life Stand $14
Husker Du – Flip Your Wig (original) $12
Jaill – That’s How We Burn $8
Japandroids – Celebration Rock (white, has a bent corner) $10
Javelin – 2 EP $12 (Cover was screenprinted over a copy of the Urban Cowboy soundtrack)
Jeffertitti’s Nile – Hypnotic River of Sound $14 (bassist for Father John Misty)
Joan of Arc – S/T (white vinyl, has a seam split on spine) $10
John Vanderslice – Emerald City $7
John Vanderslice – Romanian Names $6
Kenny Rogers – Ten Years of Gold $1,600.00
The Kinks – Give the People What They Want $1
Kylesa – Ultraviolet (half grey/half light grey /500) $12
LCD Soundsystem – Bye Bye Bayou $10
The Love Language – Ruby Red $7
Madlib – Shades of Blue (’14 reissue, sleeve has some bends) $13
Matt Pond PA – The Dark Leaves $10
Matt Pond PA – Measure $7
Memory Map – Holiday Band $5
Mono – Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky… $9
Mount Carmel – Get Pure (clear vinyl) $12
The Mountain Goats – Beat The Champ (deluxe with bonus 12” & OBI strip) $26
My Brightest Diamond – A Thousand Shark’s Teeth $10
North – The Great Silence (silver and rust vinyl) $10
NRBQ – Wild Weekend $4
O’Brother – Garden Window (red vinyl) $14
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than The Stars $4
Pelican – Forever Becoming $12
Roxy Music – Siren $2
Saint Vitus – Lillie: F-65 $8
Set and Setting – Equanimity (clear /250) $12
Sisyphus – S/T (VIP Edition /450) $50
Sondre Lerche – Phantom Punch (sealed) $15
Sonny & The Sunsets – Antenna to the Afterworld (purple vinyl) $15
Spandau Ballet – True $1
Speedy Ortiz – Real Hair (orange vinyl) $14
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble – Texas Flood (’85 press, cover is a little rough and vinyl has a few marks) $10
The Submarines – Love Notes and Letter Bombs $8
Swans – Swans EP (2015 reissue) $8
Talk Talk – It’s My Life $4
They Might Be Giants – Nanobots (signed) $20
Tomahawk – Oddfellows $10
Tycho – Past is Prologue Sampler (black vinyl) $14
Van Morrison – Common One $2
Xiu Xiu – Nina $8 (baby blue vinyl)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito $8
Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid of You… (sealed) $15