Back in June, we presented an exclusive new recording from Eleven, released by surviving members Alain Johannes and Jack Irons. Now, in a cleverly timed promotion of Rarities – the band’s upcoming collection of unreleased songs, they’re dropping the single This Little Finger.
The track, which was recorded during the sessions for their last album, 2003’s Howling Book, comes out today, on the very special date of 11/11/11. The single also contains new track Took Me For a Ride and the Stevie Wonder cover You Haven’t Done Nothin’. The beautiful, yet surprisingly heavy single This Little Finger can be picked up at iTunes for 99 cents, along with Took Me For a Ride and You Haven’t Done Nothin’. Watch out for those drums, and the late Natasha Shneider’s vocal appearance in the breakdown.
Johannes, the band’s nucleus, recently spoke to Antiquiet about the process of preparing the song for release: “It became about taking the original demos and enhancing it a little, and going through the process of bringing out all these separate things. I think that’s what happened with This Little Finger. It was probably from the Howling Book sessions, as the first song we recorded. And then by the time we were done with the Howling Book record, it really didn’t fit the architecture anymore. But it’s a great track.” Regarding Jack Iron’s impressive drumming, he added: “That’s crazy Jack with his ability to make everything seem like a beat, even when he’s going mental.”
This Little Finger is expected to go to radio on Nov. 15. Meanwhile, Rarities‘ released has been pushed back to early 2012.
Stay tuned for our full interview with Alain Johannes.