After releasing their debut studio album An Awesome Wave in 2012, Alt-J has returned to the musical scene with their newest single "Hunger of the Pine."

The song, off their second album This Is All Yours (out Sept. 22), was "composed entirely of new and spontaneous ideas that arose during writing sessions. It was written very quickly ... seemed to signal a bit of a new sound for us," according to band member Gus Unger-Hamilton.

As someone who immensely enjoyed An Awesome Wave, I had been anticipating the release of new music from Alt-J for quite some time. But when bassist Gwil Sainsbury left the band earlier this year, I grew concerned about the sound of their upcoming album.

"Hunger of the Pine" put some of these fears to rest. As I heard Joe Newman's chill-inducing vocals sing the beautifully written first few lines of the song, This Is All Yours seemed more promising than ever.

Then I got to minute 1:37 in the song, where they sample Miley Cyrus's "4x4," and was taken aback. I have no problem with them sampling such a popular artist, and in fact applaud them for this risky choice, but the way the sample was initially worked into the song seems careless. It sounds accidental, as if someone pulled up two songs and played them over each other. When the sample comes up in the end of the song during a build, it makes more sense and even adds to the energy. But as of now I'm convinced the song would be better without the introduction of the sample (though I realize that would potentially make the second use of the sample seem random and confusing, but I stand by my opinion).

"Hunger of the Pine" has the artistic lyricism and interesting layered sound Alt-J has become known for, but is missing the calculated flawlessness that could be found in every track on the band's first album. Each harmony, instrument and syncopation on An Awesome Wave was careful and deliberate, and it showed in its seeming effortlessness.

"Hunger of the Pine" doesn't have that. The introduction of the sample is jarring and breaks the melancholy, yearning energy of the song.

That being said, I still enjoyed it. The concept (as Unger-Hamilton described it, "The idea that missing someone — pining — can be a physical pain much like hunger") is fascinating, and they're clearly still the same great band as before. They're just a more spontaneous, potentially less polished and less perfect version of the band before.

I'm excited to hear the rest of their album and see the direction in which they take it. Hopefully it will live up to the masterpiece they released in 2012, but they have a lot to live up to.

Listen to the song here:

[embed]https://soundcloud.com/alt-j/hunger-of-the-pine[/embed]