8/10
Over the years, Alt-J have proven themselves to be one of the biggest envelope pushers in today's indie music scene. The band's most recent album 'Relaxer' cemented them as a truly unique voice working today, but seems like they had more ideas of what to do with their material as they return with 'Reduxer', a remix album of their last release that sees them collaborate with a wealth of hip-hop talent such as Danny Brown, Little Simz, Pusha T and more, delivering a wonderfully spellbinding collection.
Unlike many other remix albums going around, this one seems like the band still had a very heavy hand in how it should sound and be developed. Each track sees them take their original ideas and rework them into a diverse range of background cuts that prove to be the perfect bed for each guest to take the reins on and completely reinvent their sound in the process. From the start, 'Reduxer' sees them completely break their original LP to pieces and rebuild in a completely new light, delivering something that their fans will be surprised by, but ultimately showcase just how diverse they are as a group.
It is very rare to come across a remix collection with such a cohesive direction but Alt-J have managed to create a release with such a solid foundation, it could have just been released as a follow up to their last full-length. A wonderfully uncompromising record that sees them push and develop themselves even more than we could have ever thought.