My favorite rock band, alt-J, has a pleasantly surprising piece of new music this morning — "3WW" comes from the band's third album, Relaxer, which they announced this morning and will be out June 9 on Canvasback Music. Unlike some of their brasher music, this song has the feel of a West African tune, with a gentle plucked sound that reminds me of an ngoni or kora.

Singer and guitarist Joe Newman told me, in an email this morning, that it's "a combination of three guitars — a Martin nylon guitar, a Taylor T5 electric acoustic and the original instrumentation from the demo which was a Fender Telecaster Deluxe — for that smooth, smooth finish."