Jesse Hartman’s cult electro-pop project Laptop returns with "Additional Animals" — a darkly funny alt-disco track

about extinction, meat, and the absurd human urge for more. It’s the second single from "On This Planet", an album

co-written and performed with his 19-year-old son Charlie Hartman.

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Now based in New York, Laptop originally emerged in the early 2000's on Island Records with three legendary cult

classic albums — 'Opening Credits', 'The Old Me vs The New You' and 'Don’t Try This at Home' — earning praise

from NME, The Guardian, and others for its stylized blend of synth-pop, irony, and heartbreak.

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After going viral on TikTok with their first single “Weirder” (4M+ views and counting), mixed by Grammy award-

winning producer Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails, Laurie Anderson, Julian Lennon), the duo

continues their reboot of the Laptop aesthetic — part indie-pop, part satire, part family therapy session.

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“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.

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"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," says Jesse Hartman.

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“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."

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Jesse shares, “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.”

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Before Laptop, Jesse Hartman got his start as a teenage Voidoid with Richard Hell before he co-founded the indie rock band Sammy (with Luke Wood, later President of Beats by Dre), releasing albums on Fire Records and Geffen

Records. Known for his dry humor and cinematic aesthetic, Hartman was once described by The Guardian as the

master of “insincere sincerity.” Now joined by his son Charlie, a multi-instrumentalist and co-writer, he brings that same emotional contrast into a new era — with Laptop’s blend of deadpan pop and wide-eyed dread more relevant than ever.

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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.

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“Additional Animals” is out August 8 on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, AppleMusic and Bandcamp.

The full album "On This Planet" arrives in Spring 2026.

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