alt-J have released their first music in four years with an accompanying music video, as well as announcing a new album, 'The Dream', for 2022.
The band’s new single ‘U&ME’ is out now, inspired by Sun Cycle Festival in Melbourne.
‘U&ME’ is the first new music from alt-J since their acclaimed third album RELAXER in 2017. Their fourth album, The Dream, will be released February 11, 2022.
What you need to know
- alt-J have released their first track since 2017 and it’s inspired by a Melbourne festival
- It comes off their forthcoming new album The Dream, coming in February next year
- The band have also released a music video featuring the entire group for the first time
Stay up to date with what’s happening in Melbourne here.
Directed by band member Gus’ brother Prosper Unger-Hamilton, the video for ‘U&ME’ is their first to feature the full band. It recalls some of the band’s treasured memories and captures them in full flow during long summer days.
The track was written during various soundchecks across the globe, when the band got back to London and heard the recordings they knew it was one of their most dynamic recordings to date.
Speaking on the process, Joe Newman says, “It gathered momentum on it’s own, it was best to just get out of its way. We were just there.”
‘U&ME’ was written about a day Joe Newman spent at Sun Cycle Festival in Melbourne. Elaborating on the meaning of the song, Gus Unger-Hamilton says, “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 Dream is an album where true-crime inspired stories and tales of Hollywood and the Chateau Marmont rub shoulders with some of the band’s more personal moments to-date. The album was created after a period of rest for the band following their seismic world tour in support of previous record RELAXER.
Pre-order The Dream here, plus check out their other work.
