alt-J The Dream
- Adult Alternative |
- Art Rock |
- Indie Pop |
- Indie Rock |
- Rock
Release Date: February 11, 2022
Label: Atlantic
The Dream, the fourth album from the Grammy and BRIT award nominees, is an album of intrigue, beauty and humanity - a coalescence of everything that has made alt-J a global band with true staying power.
True-crime inspired stories and tales of Hollywood and the Chateau Marmont rub shoulders with some of the band’s most personal moments to-date. The Dream was created after a period of rest for the band following their seismic world tour in support of previous record, Relaxer. It is a record that is the sound of a band growing as songwriters and storytellers.
The single “Hard Drive Gold” follows “Get Better,” the stirring centerpiece of the album, while “U&ME” is an inspired snapshot of the band’s experiences playing summer festivals in Australia.
Joe Newman, the band’s singer/guitarist/songwriter says “'Hard Drive Gold' is a slightly tongue-in-cheek song written at what we thought was the height of the cryptocurrency gold rush. It’s the story of the ultimate childhood fantasy, the schoolboy who becomes a millionaire overnight, and the different interactions he has with people in his life from teachers to neighbors. How ironically you interpret its message is entirely up to you.”
The song is accompanied by a video that is Newman’s directorial debut. Throughout the band’s career, Newman has been involved in developing the ideas of a number of alt-J videos, and now with “Hard Drive Gold,” he takes the full step up to directing.
The New York Times called the band’s sound “a handsome alloy of dry acoustic timbre and reverberant effect, suggesting a very British convergence of texture-minded electronic music and psychedelic folk.”