IN an era when manufactured pop music has a tendency to dominate charts and airwaves alike, Alt-J offer refreshing relief.

After hearing current single ‘Breeze Blocks’ for the first time, I couldn’t decide what genre they were trying to represent.

But I like dubstep. I like folk music. And I definitely like a band who combine elements of both (with a bit of jazz thrown in as well) to create a Mercury-award winning album.

And at Manchester Academy on Thursday it was easy to see why debut release ‘An Awesome Wave’ scooped that particular gong.

The Leeds four piece’s bassy riffs and sometimes almost mournful lyrics of singer Joe Newman had the crowd singing along with eyes closed and arms aloft from the off.

The allure of Alt-J’s sound is it really is different to anything I’ve heard before - effortlessly cool, instantly engaging - and the hour-long gig ebbed and flowed seamlessly.

It took me until half an hour into the show to notice there was a chap standing next to me in an identical t-shirt, which has to be a good thing.

In terms of performance, it was unashamedly laid back, but no one in the sold out university venue seemed to mind too much.

Throw in a cover of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Slow’ to boot, and you are reminded that while Alt-J may not drip on-stage energy, their music is intriguing enough to mean you hardly even notice.