Alt-J shared the first taste of its upcoming sophomore album, This Is All Yours, with the Miley Cyrus-sampling "Hunger Of The Pine." Now they've released another song, the album's first official single, titled "Left Hand Free."
It sounds nothing like any of Alt-J's previous work, having more of a classic rock than electro-rock vibe.
The band called the track "the least Alt-J song ever" in an interview with The Guardian and explained that they only wrote it because their American label pressured them to write a "big single."
The song was apparently written in about 20 minutes and was based off a "joke riff" Joe Newman had been playing in rehearsals; however, their label loved it.
"I tried to make the drums as clichéd as possible, there's none of my personality in it," Thom Green told them.
Newman added, "I say, 'Gee whizz,' which I'm not sure is a phrase I've ever uttered before. I can imagine it appealing to American truckers with Good Riddance To Bin Laden stickers!"
Gus Unger-Hamilton said he feared that "someone's going to walk onstage to it at an NRA convention." But before he got ahead of himself he cautioned, "Let's see if it becomes a hit first. We might be no-hit wonders."
This Is All Yours is the follow-up to their Mercury-prize winning debut, An Awesome Wave. It will be released September 22 via Infectious Music. It is the band's first record since the departure of founding bassist Gwil Sainsbury.
Check out "Left Hand Free" below, and let us know what you think in the comments section!
