Triple J Pick of the Week

alt-J    
Hunger Of The Pine

It must have been a pretty daunting task for Leeds band alt-J to start writing a sophomore album – their debut An Awesome Wave not only won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize for 2012, but spawned five hit singles, reached Platinum sales in their home country and scored three songs in triple j’s 2012 Hottest 100 (including Breezeblocks coming in at #3). It was a record that not only cleverly mixed a vast range of styles but firmly marked alt-J down as an innovative, forward thinking band; the pressure must have been on to create a new sound.

With their new single Hunger Of The Pine, they’ve done exactly that – expanding from experimental indie and art-rock and diving head first into a new realm of electronic influences (including a Miley Cyrus sample!), which keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton said will be a lot more prevalent on their new record This Is All Yours, when he joined Matt & Alex earlier this week for the track’s premiere.

The album will be out in Australia on September 19.