Laptop – Jesse & Charlie Hartman, photo by Thomas Krause
Jesse Hartman’s electro-pop project Laptop, released “Additional Animals” – a darkly funny alt-disco track about extinction, meat, and the absurd human urge for more. It’s the second single from the album “On This Planet”, co-written and performed with his 19-year-old son, Charlie Hartman.
Now based in New York, Laptop originally emerged in the early 2000s on Island Records, with three legendary classic albums: “Opening Credits”, “The Old Me vs The New You” and “Don’t Try This at Home”. NME, The Guardian, and other magazines praised the band for its stylized fusion of synth-pop, irony, and heartbreak. Now, they’ve recreated the Laptop aesthetic – part indie-pop, part satire, part family therapy session.
Jesse Hartman: “Additional Animals” is as much about appetite as it is about climate anxiety, blending shimmering synths, mandolin and Mediterranean horns. An extension of classic Laptop, this witty indie-pop is a logical evolution for the band, presenting a cross-generational blend of dry wit, anxiety and synth-driven swagger. This song is about the human appetite – for meat, for more, for everything – and how that hunger’s eating us alive. It’s a song about extinction that you can dance to. The lyrics are a little more connected to the moment than usual for me – our failing planet, our endless consumption – but it’s still wrapped in this shimmering, international pop packaging. We tracked the song in hip Valencia, added harmonies and Caribbean instruments in Nevis, and finished it in our hood in New York. It’s a global pop fever dream about survival, meat, and the slightly hilarious fact that humans always want just a little more.”
The video, directed and shot by filmmaker Jesse, was filmed during a surreal family summer in Valencia, and features Jesse, Charlie and Jesse’s daughter, Lulu. Other scenes include flamenco parades, aquariums, rooftop horn solos, fishing boats, and sun-drenched chaos.
Jessie Hartman: “It stars me, my kids, our percussionist Mike (who used to play with Brian Eno), and our Nevis family singer Denise. It’s chaotic and colorful and oddly hopeful – like maybe we’re not the last animals standing.”
Jesse Hartman began his career as a Voidoid with Richard Hell when he was a teenager. He then co-founded the indie rock group Sammy with Luke Wood, later President of Beats by Dre. The band released records on Fire Records and Geffen Records. The Guardian previously referred to Hartman as the master of “insincere sincerity” because of his dry humour and cinematic style. He brings that same emotional contrast into a new era with his son Charlie, a multi-instrumentalist and co-writer. The Laptop’s combination of wide-eyed dread and deadpan pop is more relevant than ever.
With a London show coming in October and a full album on the way in the Spring of 2026, Laptop’s return is both a throwback and a reinvention – “legacy pop for a collapsing planet”.
Laptop will additionally perform on September 3rd at NYC’s Sony Hall to support this and the previous single “Weirder” (which went viral with over 4M views and increasing), mixed by Grammy-winning producer Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails, Laurie Anderson, Julian Lennon). This marks the band’s first performance in New York in two decades, serving as the opening act for British indie-rock icons Cast, whose members have connections to The La’s and Shack. “Additional Animals” features a 13-member “Animal” ensemble reminiscent of Stop Making Sense, blending talent from London with family artists (featuring renowned performers Odetta Hartman and Camellia Hartman) and collaborators from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit “Freestyle Love Supreme” alongside Denise Gordon from Nevis, whose vocals illuminate the forthcoming album “On This Planet,” highlighting the project’s Caribbean influences.
“Additional Animals” is out now, available on major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The full album “On This Planet” arrives in Spring 2026. Tickets for the Cast + Laptop show at Sony Hall are available now.
Keep up with Laptop:
https://www.laptoptheband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laptoptheband
https://laptoptheband.bandcamp.com/track/weirder-2
https://www.instagram.com/laptoptheband
https://www.youtube.com/@laptoptheband
https://www.tiktok.com/@laptoptheband
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/laptop/77433412
Credits:
Jesse Hartman – vocals, guitars, keyboards, synths, piano, bass, percussion; Charlie Hartman – vocals; Lulu Hartman – vocals; Geddys “Ch4se” Ferguson – vocals; Denise Gordon – vocals; Frank and Snowflake – vocals, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar; Mike Desmarais – drums; Lluisen Capafons – congas, additional percussion; Dima Faustov – saxophone; Lev Borovskiy – trumpet, trombone; Oliver Freiberg – drum programming;
Recorded by Iñaki Ariste Aznar (Valencia), Edward Douglas (NYC), Jesse Hartman (NYC/Nevis); Mixed by Jesse Hartman, Ray Aldaco, Edward Douglas, Nicholas Vernhes; Final mix by Jesse Hartman and Edward Douglas; Produced by Jesse Hartman; Mastered by Dave Trumfio;
Written by Jesse Hartman (BMI); Published by Exurbia Music, Inc. (dba Yodel Productions, Inc.); Released by Hurricane Cove Records; Featuring Charlie Hartman, Jesse Hartman, Lulu Hartman, Mike Desmarais, and Denise Gordon.
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR:
https://www.facebook.com/ShamelessPromotionPR/
https://littlecloudrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.shamelesspromotionpr.com/
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