Pleader (song)

"Pleader" is a song by British indie rock band alt-J. It is the eighth and final track (and fifth and final single) from their third studio album, Relaxer, and was released as a shortened radio edit digital single on 15 September 2017 by Infectious Music and Atlantic Records.^[1] The song was written by Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton and Thom Sonny Green and produced by Charlie Andrew.

"Pleader"
Single by alt-J
from the album Relaxer
Released	15 September 2017
Length	5:49 (album version) 2:38 (single version)
Label	Infectious Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Joe Newman Gus Unger-Hamilton Thom Sonny Green
Producer(s)	Charlie Andrew
Alt-J singles chronology
"Deadcrush" (2017) "Pleader" (2017) "U&Me" (2021)

Composition and lyrics

In an interview with NPR, the band said:^[2]

The last track on the record is based on Richard Llewelyn's book How Green Was My Valley?, about a small mining community in nineteenth-century Wales. The song takes the form of a hymn, and so we went to Ely Cathedral^[3] in Cambridgeshire to record the boys' choir and the organ there, to add a church feeling to the track. It is a long song, but we felt the sense of pride and hope it leaves by the end made it the right choice for ending the album.

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.^[4]

Remix

The song was remixed by Mr Jukes, a music project of British musician Jack Steadman of the band Bombay Bicycle Club. The remix features British group The Age of L.U.N.A. and was released as a single on 25 October 2017.^[5]

Track listing

Digital download

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pleader (Edit)"	2:38

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal^[6]

alt-J Joe Newman – guitar, vocals Gus Unger-Hamilton – keyboards, vocals Thom Sonny Green – drums, percussion, programming Additional musicians Ely Cathedral Boy Choristers – choir London Metropolitan Orchestra – 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

References

1. "Pleader - Edit". Spotify. 15 September 2017.
2. Boilen, Bob (2 June 2017). "alt-J's 'Relaxer,' Track By Track". NPR. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
3. "Alt-J on Instagram: "We have a new single from the album 'RELAXER': A brand new edit of 'Pleader'. This intimate track was recorded with the choir of Ely Cathedral with help from the cathedral's incredible organ. We hope you enjoy it (Link in bio)"".
4. "alt-J - Pleader (Official Video)". YouTube. alt-J. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
5. "TIDAL". Listen.tidal.com. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
6. "TIDAL". Listen.tidal.com. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.