Alt-J's Joe Newman has a funny way of singing — especially for the uninitiated, it can seem cartoonish or, worse, affected. He bends his high, twisty voice in strange ways, wrapping it around inventive arrangements that burble and boom and otherwise ramp up a sense of unease. The easiest way to embrace Alt-J's idiosyncratic charm is to witness the band live; to hear how often Newman sings quietly and subtly, and to get a fuller feel for the prettiness at the core of Alt-J's songs.

On Wednesday night at Stubb's, the band dug deep into its one and only album, last year's Mercury Prize-winning An Awesome Wave, and found a sweet spot where odd adventurousness meets beauty that seeps under the skin.

Set List

• "Intro"
• "Interlude I"
• "Tessellate"
• "Something Good"
• "Buffalo"
• "Dissolve Me"
• "Fitzpleasure"
• "Matilda"
• "Interlude II"
• "Bloodflood"
• "Ms"
• "Breezeblocks"
• "Hand-Made"
• "Taro"

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Source: NPR