We’ve been eagerly awaiting Alt-J to follow-up their breakthrough 2012 record An Awesome Wave, but we’ll admit this caught us off-guard: new single “Hunger of the Pine” samples our homegirl Miley Cyrus.
Listen to the song, which premiered today, via Soundcloud below.
“Hunger of the Pine” is the first cut off new record This Is All Yours, out in September and available for pre-sale now. It’s a slow-burner that builds up nicely, more experimental, jazzy pop that takes its cue from the ban’s debut, and clearly our favorite part is Cyrus singing “I’m the female rebel.” The sample comes off Cyrus’ track “4×4,” from her recent Bangerz record.
The new Alt-J song was “composed entirely of new and spontaneous ideas that arose during writing sessions for the second album,” Alt-J’s Gus Unger-Hamilton tells NPR today. “It was written very quickly using some guitar chords and sounds being layered on Ableton, and seemed to signal a bit of a new sound for us. The lyrics mainly suggest the idea that missing someone — pining — can be a physical pain much like hunger.”
Alt-J play Boston’s Orpheum Theatre on November 18. Full run of dates after the jump.
Alt-J Fall Tour Dates
Sep 18 Academy Glasgow, United Kingdom
Sep 19 Apollo Manchester, United Kingdom
Sep 22 Civic Hall Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Sep 23 Brighton Centre Brighton, United Kingdom
Sep 24 Alexandra Palace London, United Kingdom
Sep 27 O2 Arena Dublin, Ireland
Sep 29 Casino de Paris Paris, France
Oct 14 Orpheum Theater Vancouver, Canada
Oct 15 Paramount Theater Seattle, WA
Oct 16 Roseland Ballroom Portland, OR
Oct 17 Roseland Theater Portland, OR
Oct 20 Greek Theater Los Angeles, CA
Oct 21 Fox Theater Pomona, CA
Oct 24 Soma San Diego, CA
Oct 27 The Complex Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 28 Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
Oct 31 Myth Minneapolis, MN
Nov 01 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Nov 02 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Nov 04 Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa, OK
Nov 05 Southside Ballroom Dallas, TX
Nov 06 Bayou Music Center Houston, TX
Nov 07 Fun Fun Fun Fest Austin, TX
Nov 08 Fun Fun Fun Fest Austin, TX
Nov 09 Fun Fun Fun Fest Austin, TX
Nov 10 The Filllmore Detroit, MI
Nov 11 Kool Haus Toronto, Canada
Nov 12 Metropolis Montreal, Canada
Nov 14 Tower Theater Upper Darby, PA
Nov 16 Beacon Theater New York, NY
Nov 18 Orpheum Theater Boston, MA
Nov 19 Washington Washington, DC