Alt-J Resurrect 2012 Single ‘Breezeblocks’ on ‘Colbert’

Despite releasing a new album earlier this month, Alt-J revisited their early catalog Monday evening with a performance of the 2012 single “Breezeblocks” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The performance, Colbert noted, was a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the British indie rock trio’s Mercury Prize-winning album, An Awesome Wave.

The ambling track, which frontman Joe Newman told Interview Magazine in 2012 was partially inspired by a line from the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, buries its dark, threatening tale of a murderous lover beneath playful synth leads and Newman’s sing-song vocals. “She bruises, coughs, she splutters pistol shots,” he sings. “Hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks.”

Alt-J recently released The Dream, the group’s first studio album since 2017’s Relaxer, announcing the record with a video for lead single “U&ME.” In a statement about the track, keyboardist and vocalist Gus Unger-Hamilton said, “It’s about being at a festival with your best friends, having a good time, togetherness, and the feeling in life that nothing could be any better than it is right now.”

The band is currently set to embark upon a joint North American tour with Portugal. the Man in support of the record, which kicks off Feb. 25 in Pittsburgh, Penn., and wraps April 17 in Toronto.