The first entirely new music from Alt-J in an awfully long time has just arrived in the shape of their latest single release ‘U&ME’. The Mercury Prize winning band, and arbiters of artfully crafted alt-pop, have not delivered anything new since 2017 when they released their third album ‘Relaxer’.
At the same time as the new track, and skateboard themed video arrived, the band also announced details of their upcoming fourth album release. The Leed’s band follow up to ‘Relaxer’ will be called ‘The Dream’ and is set to arrive on 22nd February next year. As well as having a lot of “personally charged details” the album also has elements that explore true crime and Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont.
Talking about the new song, lead singer and guitarist Joe Newman said – “It gathered momentum on it’s own, it was best to just get out of its way. We were just there.” The track was written during sound checks and has gentle, laid back vibe that captures the essence of the song brilliantly. Vocalist and keyboard player Gus Unger-Hamilton summed up the song by saying – “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.”
On the same day that alt-J released their new single, and expanded on the details of their new album, they also announced plans to tour North America. Starting on 25th February 2022, three days after the album launch, alt-J will play The Petersen Event Center in Pittsburgh followed by dates in Washington DC, Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa, Dallas, Detroit, Chicago and New York among others before finishing their 31 date tour with a night at The Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto.
