Alt-J have shared a poignant new song called ‘Get Better’, the latest track to be taken from their new album ‘The Dream’.
The song is accompanied by an animated music video, created by Stefanie Grunwald, an award-winning pixel artist who is based in Hamburg.
The visuals and lyrics depict a person longing for a loved one to get better, and the subsequent coming to terms with their loss. “I still pretend you’re only out of sight/ In another room, smiling at your phone,” singer Joe Newman narrates towards the song’s end.
The track also pays tribute to frontline workers during the pandemic, with Newman singing: “I’ll start the day with tiramisu/ Raise a spoon to frontline workers/ An underfunded principle/ They risk all to be there for us.”
In a press release, Newman said of the track: “‘Get Better’ is the union of two songs. The first was an improvised song I sang in 2018 to my partner who was suffering from period pain. To her I sang ‘Get better my Darcy, I know you can’. She filmed it and I kept revisiting the fragment with a plan to write more.
“The second was a chord structure I worked on in lockdown that focused on someone living through a bereavement. I felt a nervous heat when writing ‘Get Better’. The context of the coronavirus pandemic lent my words a chilling weight and gave me a new sense of responsibility as a lyricist. Whilst the direct events described are fictional, I believe – or I hope – that it’s emotionally the most honest song I’ve written.”
Keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton added: “When Joe first played it to me I didn’t just get a bit tearful, I broke down. A big, big cry. A cry of the year.”
Alt-J have also announced a prize draw in which one fan could win a Larrivee P-05 guitar – the same model used by Newman when writing ‘The Dream’ and recording ‘Get Better’ – with the lyrics to the band’s new single written on it by their frontman.
All proceeds from the draw will go to Plan International, a global children’s charity that operates in more than 50 countries to create lasting equality for girls, while also protecting the rights of all children. You can enter the draw here.
The band have also confirmed a slew of tour dates due to take place in the UK and Ireland next year. ‘The Dream Tour’ will kick off in Glasgow on May 7, before concluding in Birmingham at the end of the month.
Tickets for the tour will be available in an exclusive presale – for fans who have pre-ordered ‘The Dream’ from the official album store – from 9am GMT on November 10 until the general sale begins at 9am on November 12. You can find tickets and more info here.
Alt-J will play:
May 2022
7 – Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom
9 – Leeds, O2 Academy
13 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
18 – London, O2 Academy Brixton
22 – Dublin, Olympia Theatre
25 – Belfast, The Telegraph Building
27 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
The UK and Ireland dates follow the trio’s previously confirmed North American tour, which is due to begin in February.
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