U&ME
2021 single by Alt-J
"U&ME" is a song by British indie rock band Alt-J. It was released alongside the announcement of their fourth album The Dream on September 22, 2021, as the first single from the album, and the second on the album's tracklist.
Writing and composition
"U&ME" was written by Alt-J frontman Joe Newman and is largely based on a real-life experience at the Sun Cycle Festival in Melbourne, which he attended with his partner. Newman stated that "two-thirds of the writing" for the song was directly inspired by the event, grounding the track in autobiographical detail.
The song has been described as a love story constructed from fragmented memories, capturing a sense of pre-pandemic togetherness and nostalgia. Musically, it is characterized by a relaxed, stripped-back style consistent with the band's blend of indie rock and experimental pop. In interviews surrounding The Dream, the band also framed the track around themes of joy and intimacy, reflecting a moment where "nothing could be any better than it is right now".
Lyrically, "U&ME" juxtaposes realism with surrealism. While much of the narrative reflects genuine experiences, Newman deliberately exaggerated elements in the song's final section, introducing what he described as a "devolving, druggy madness" that is "completely fictitious".
Music video
The music video for "U&ME" was directed by Prosper Unger-Hamilton, the brother of band member Gus Unger-Hamilton, and released on 22 September 2021. It was produced by MrMr Films and marked one of the first occasions in which all members of Alt-J prominently appear together in a music video.
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This entry incorporates text from “U&ME” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.