alt-j Kicked Off Their North American Tour This Past Weekend

Joe Newman of alt-j (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

One of our favorite bands made their way through Denver this past weekend to kick off their North American tour with two stops at The Fillmore Auditorium. Alt-J the trio from Leeds, England stopped by and entertained us for two nights of awesome and amazing music. Bringing their same production as last summers Red Rocks show the band this time around played more stuff off Relaxer their latest album. Crowd favorites included the usual "Tesselate", "Matilda", and "Dissolve Me", before ending the night with a three song encore including "Breezleblocks". The band opened with "Deadcrush" for those of you who play FIFA 18 you have become quite familiar with this one. The setlist was the same both nights and they managed to belt out 20 songs by the time the night was over. The band continues with the rest of the tour and you can get more information here.

Words and images-Robert Castro

Alt-J is Back & Better Than Ever

alt-j performing at Red Rocks. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

You heard right, Alt- J is back! After a long three years of waiting, we have had a huge week in Alt-J world! The band has released the first single from their new album, gave us an album drop date, and announced a US tour. I hope this makes all you Alt-J fans giddy with excitement; I know I am!

Alt-J’s brand new single is entitled “3WW” and is pure musical gold. To properly review this song I had to listen to it on repeat, which wasn’t a change from what I have been doing since Monday when it hit Spotify (No kidding- I have probably listened 200x).

Alt-J’s familiar melodic sound is unmistakable even in the first few notes. Certainly, the beautiful, sexy song that follows will not leave many fans disappointed. The first third of 3WW is solely instrumental, but like they say, time flies when you’re having fun. At 1:42 you hear the smooth voice of Joe Newman singing some words you probably don’t understand unless you listen close, but this is the norm with most Alt-J jams. At this point you can let yourself become overly excited, this is when you are sure this song is going to be really, really good.

3WW is mostly about love and sex. One of my favorite lines is, “the smell of sex burned like burning wood.” Soon after these lyrics, Ellie Roswell, of the band Wolf Alice, comes in with her dazzlingly sultry voice to reveal more details to the story of the tune. She mentions flirty girls in a pool, asks if it was their first time and sings of sex next to a campfire: “love is just a button we pressed last night next to the campfire.”  When Joe and Ellie’s voices mix they intertwine effortlessly and harmoniously, as if they were made for each other.

The song overall is a jammer and a half. Addicting, sexy, wonderful, and completely up to par with what we now expect to hear from Alt-J.  I, like many others, am counting down the days until June 9th when the album will be released. If 3WW is any indication of the rest of the album, we are in for a real treat.

Tickets for the Red Rocks show go on sale Friday at 10am. Make sure you grab yours ASAP, as this show is bound to sell out!

RELAXER tracklisting

1. 3WW
2. In Cold Blood
3. House of the Rising Sun
4. Hit Me Like That Snare
5. Deadcrush
6. Adeline
7. Last Year
8. Pleader

Listen to '3WW': 
https://alt-j.lnk.to/3wwPR
Watch the '3WW' visualizer: https://youtu.be/bDUUOt30TGA
Pre-order RELAXER: 
https://alt-j.lnk.to/RelaxerPR

 

Music | alt-J and TV on the Radio | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | July 27

Monday night Red Rocks Amphitheatre played host to two amazing bands. Opening up the night were Brooklyn outfit TV on the Radio. The band ripped through their hour set at a frantic pace that had lead singer Tunde Adebimpe pacing up and down the Red Rocks stage with his unique dance moves. They played a slew of hits off of their extended catalog opening with "Young Liars" and other notable hits like "Wolf Like Me", "Happy Idiot", and ending with "Staring at the Sun", a fitting number just as the sun began to set for headliners alt-J.

As the house music went silent black and blue lighting highlighted silhouettes of the four piece band hailing from Leeds, England. The haunting riffs of "Hunger of the Pine",  began to blare out of the speakers sending the crowd into a frenzy. The sold-out crowd fed off the band with almost every song. Not a hard feat considering the band only has two studio albums to date. The band has progressively improved their sound since the last time we saw them this past October. With infectious Gregorian-like chants and sexual inducing dance numbers like "Tessellate", the band was flanked by a light show that captured the essence of the venue to perfection. The band has made themselves home here in Colorado judging by the audience. A younger crowd seemed to be more evident this time giving way to the bands reach that is only beginning to grow bigger and bigger every time.

Words and Images-Castro

Setlist: Hunger of the Pine | Fitzpleasure | Something Good | Left Hand Free | Dissolve Me | Matilda | Bloodflood | Bloodflood pt. 2 | Tessellate | Every Other Freckle | Taro | Warm Foothills | The Gospel of John Hurt | Encore: Lovely Day | Nara | Leaving Nara | Breezeblocks 

Ultra5280's Best Shows of 2014

We love you Denver. From your local talent to your local beer, you've treated us well and we couldn't be more proud of the city you've become. 2014 was a great year for your humble Ultra team, we were able to travel, meet Usher and cover more shows than ever before. In fact, 2014 brought upon a new record of shows covered for us. Reaching from Austin to Denver, we managed to catch over 250 plus shows. Including music festivals from The UMS, Austin City Limits, Westword Music Showcase, and SXSW, this year saw us cover more ground than ever before. It was a challenge narrowing down some of our best shows (and quite nostalgic...). From secret shows to intimate acoustic shows to rooftop sets, 2014 will go down as the best year we have had a chance to cover music. We asked our staff to name their best! Here are The Best Shows of 2014!

Robert Castro | Managing Editor

1. Portugal.The Man | Larimer Lounge | August 20, 2014

2. Arctic Monkeys | Red Rocks | September 4, 2014

3. Outkast | Fiddler's Green | August 22, 2014

4. St. Vincent | Austin City Limits | October 9, 2014

5. Sylvan Esso | Hi-Dive | August 30, 2014

Matt Smith | Photographer

1. Grouplove and Portugal.The Man | Red Rocks | August 21, 2014

2. Alt-J | The Fillmore | October 28, 2014

3. Bleachers | The Bluebird | November 13, 2014

4. Saves The Day and Say Anything | The Ogden | December 13, 2014

5. Thievery Corporation and Tycho | Red Rocks | June 13, 2014

Maddie Casey | Music Editor

1. Jimmy Eat World “Futures” 10yr tour | The Ogden | October 7, 2014

2. twenty | one | pilots | The Ogden | May 16, 2014

3. Riot Fest: In one weekend we saw The Cure, Weezer’s “Blue Album” front to back, In The Whale Take their pants off on stage, and Wu Tang Clan. Safe to say it was amazing for all. (September 19-21st)

4. Phantogram’s Rooftop Set at SXSW | March 12, 2014

5. Lorde | Firstbank Center | September 28, 2014

Mcclain Morris | Lifestyle Editor

1. Portugal.The Man | Larimer Lounge | August 20, 2014

2. Alt-J | The Fillmore | October 28, 2014

3. Shakey Graves | Illegal Pete's South Broadway | December 13, 2014

4. A. Tom Collins at Westword when A. Tom stole a case of wine and went on a drunken rampage about Denver being the best

5. Glass Animals | Larimer Lounge | September 25, 2014

Ultra5280's Best Albums of 2014

With so many great albums that came out this year it is always a task at hand trying to chose our favorites. This year was no different, we are fortunate to get to see as many shows as we do, as well as open our inboxes to early releases and exclusives. The great thing about our staff is that we each have our own unique bands that we love, thus making our lists an eclectic mix of great music. There were a few newcomers to the list as well as some established bands making great albums this year. A couple late additions from J. Cole and D'angelo that barely missed the cut stood out as well. Without further adieu, Ultra5280 presents the Best Albums of 2014. These are in no particular order. What were your favorites this year?

FKA Twigs | LP1

The War on Drugs | Lost In The Dream

First Aid Kit | Stay Gold

Sylvan Esso | Self Titled

Alt-J | This Is All Yours

Broods | Evergreen

Against Me | Transgender Dysphoria Blues

Future Islands | Singles

Interpol | El Pintor

Jack White | Lazaretto

Run The Jewels | Run The Jewels 2

St. Vincent | St. Vincent

Taylor Swift | 1989

Jenny Lewis | The Voyager

Weezer | Everything Will Be Alright In The End

Lucius | Wildewoman

Phantogram | Voices

Caribou | Our Love