Following the duo's 2018 and 2019 EPs,[2] I Dont Know How But They Found Me announced their debut studio album, Razzmatazz on August 5, 2020, alongside releasing its lead single, "Leave Me Alone".[3] The song was vaguely teased in June 2020, with the band tweeting a lyric to it.[4]
When asked about the song, lead singer Dallon Weekes stated "when you're in a toxic situation, the phrase 'Leave Me Alone' is the last civil thing you say before things get uncivil".[5] Weekes additionally cited his "distaste for all things Los Angeles" as an influence for the album's general tone.[6] The song's demo was created by Weekes in January 2020. It was then passed to the song's producer, Tim Pagnotta, in February before a later studio recording. In an interview with American Songwriter, Weekes mentioned David Bowie, Prince, and Don Henley as influences for the song.[7]
An acoustic piano version of "Leave Me Alone" was released on January 22, 2021, shortly before I Dont Know How But They Found Me began performing the song live on various shows.[8] The duo made their television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on January 26, 2021,[9] which additionally was the fifth anniversary of Weekes' appearance on the show with Panic! at the Disco.[10] They would later perform the song at the Gateway in Salt Lake City for the Ellen DeGeneres Show on February 23, 2021.[11]
Music videos
IDKHow uses old technology in the song's videos to depict retro-futurism.
On the single's release day, a lyric video for "Leave Me Alone" was released, featuring the lyrics appearing on an old computer at a desk. Preceding each verse and chorus, a source code is run to make pre-timed lyrics appear with the song. The computer screen is cleaned after the first chorus by an off-screen person.[12] Weekes described the lyric video's aesthetic as "retro-futurism", stating "there's something special about old technology to me. It was almost always like a living thing that you had to wrestle and fight with in order to get it to do what you want" on the set of the video.[13]
On September 2, 2020, a music video directed by Raúl Gonzo was released for the song.[14] The video depicts Weekes and Seaman performing the song in plastic cubes and bubbles while surrounded by various medical workers and technicians, who later use technology to transport Weekes into a computer.[15] The plastic cells that the band performs in were inspired by a scene from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and the helmet with various technological parts on it was inspired by an outfit Christopher Lloyd wore in Back to the Future.[16]
The video's imagery heavily takes influence from the COVID-19 pandemic, as Weekes stated the decision to "incorporate a lot of things from the state of the world as it is now. Social distancing, sterile isolation … it all seemed to fit with the song’s themes of wanting to quarantine yourself from toxic people and situations".[17] Concerning the making of the video, the group stated that "making a video in the middle of a pandemic was a challenge".[18] The video was filmed in Los Angeles,[19] with the video's production crew following safety protocol for COVID-19 with a Covid Compliance Officer onsite.[20]
