I’ll be the first to admit the first time I heard “Left Hand Free” I immediately thought it sounded like alt-j was trying to sound like The Black Keys trying to sound like The White Stripes trying to sound like Flat Duo Jets. Needless to say, it sounded semi-uninspired, which is something I’ve learned alt-j are not about normally.
Then I head that it was the answer to their US label not hearing a “hit” on their eagerly anticipated sophomore album, This Is All Yours, and it all started to make sense. Let’s face it, lyrically and sonically, it’s a pretty damn American song when boiled down. Straight up blues riff framed by what’s either a song about gun fighting for a lady or pleasuring oneself on the interwebs? That’s your call. Either way, it sounds like a middle finger which is Jam of the Day worthy in the SIC book.
Check it out.