"Pleader" is a song by British

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band alt-J. It is the eighth and final track (and fifth and final single) from their third studio album, ''

Relaxer A relaxer is a type of lotion or cream generally used by people with tight curls or very curly hair which makes hair easier to hair straightening, straighten by chemically "relaxing" the natural curls. The active agent is usually a strong alkali, a ...

'', and was released as a shortened

radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may al ...

digital single on 15 September 2017 by

Infectious Music Infectious Music is an independent record label owned by BMG, whose bands have included Alt-J, Ash and The Subways. History Infectious Music was established in 1993 as Infectious Records by former Zerra One drummer Korda Marshall after lea ...

and Atlantic Records. The song was written by Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton and

Thom Sonny Green Thomas Stuart Green (born November 5, 1985), known professionally as Thom Sonny Green, is an English drummer and electronic music producer. Green attended Leeds University, where he met the musicians with whom he would found the band Alt-J ...

and produced by

Charlie Andrew Charles Andrew, (born 1980) is a British record producer, mixer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with indie band Alt-J. In 2013 he was awarded 'Breakthrough Producer of the Year' by his peers at Music Producers Guild awards, in ...

Composition and lyrics

In an interview with

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, the band said: The novel is referenced throughout the song, including the lyric "How green, how green was my valley?".

Music video

The music video for "Pleader" was released on 15 November 2017, directed by Isaiah Seret. It was executive produced by Rupert Reynolds-MacLean and produced by Sonya Sier.

Remix

The song was remixed by

Mr Jukes Jack Steadman (born 1989 or 1990), also known by his stage name Mr Jukes (stylised in lowercase), is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer best known as the vocalist and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Bombay Bicycl ...

, a music project of British musician Jack Steadman of the band

Bombay Bicycle Club Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London, consisting of Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash. They are guitar-fronted and have experimented with different genres, including folk, electro ...

. The remix features British group The Age of L.U.N.A. and was released as a single on 25 October 2017.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal

alt-J

*Joe Newman – guitar, vocals *Gus Unger-Hamilton – keyboards, vocals *

– drums, percussion, programming

Additional musicians

*Ely Cathedral Boy Choristers – choir *

London Metropolitan Orchestra The culture of London concerns the music, museums, festivals and lifestyle within London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. London has frequently been described as a global cultural capital and is one of the world's leading business cent ...

– strings *Mark Rainbow – background vocals

Technical

*Charlie Andrew – production, mixing, engineering, programming *Brett Cox – engineering *Jay Pocknell - engineering *Stefano Civetta – assistant engineering *Paul Pritchard – assistant engineering *Graeme Baldwin – assistant engineering *Dick Beetham – mastering

Artwork and design

Osamu Sato is a Japanese digital artist, photographer, and composer. His first work was the ambient music album "Objectless", which released in 1983. His first work in the video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, ma ...

References

{{Authority control 2017 singles Alt-J songs 2017 songs Infectious Music singles Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Thom Sonny Green