alt-J Releases Final 'The Dream' Single, "The Actor" [Listen]

alt-J offered a final preview of The Dream on Monday with the album’s fourth single, “The Actor”. The British art-rock trio’s fourth album is out on February 11th via Canvasback/Atlantic.

The single hears alt-J embracing a sleek, retro veneer indicative of the 1980s. A vaguely David Gilmour guitar drop-in furthers the six-string-centric approach favored throughout the previous The Dream singles. All of these elements come together to join in with the song’s lyrical narrative. In a statement, the band described the track as “Hollywood, 1982. Another hopeful young movie star arrives in search of The Dream. What follows is a tale of desperation, drugs and death in LA’s most famous hotel. It’s ‘The Actor’.”

Retro synthesizers cross-pollinate the backroom decadence as back-and-forth lyrics sing “Cocaine/He’s never gonna make it.” The song’s sweeping chorus also features family members of the band on backing vocals. Ironically, a song so richly cinematic that is itself about movies arrives without a music video, the first The Dream single to do so.

Listen to “The Actor” by alt-J via the player below and click here to pre-order The Dream. The band is gearing up for an arena tour of the U.S. with Portugal. The Man set to begin on February 25th in Pittsburgh, PA. The band has recently added a run of intimate shows at record stores across England in May, as well as a third night at London’s O2 Arena. For tickets and a full list of dates visit alt-J’s website.

alt-J – “The Actor”