Indie stars Alt-J have brushed off criticism from Noel Gallagher by saying that they felt that being slagged off by him is “a rite of passage to get a pasting from him.”

The former Oasis man let rip at the band, who topped the album charts last year with their second album This Is All Yours, in an interview with Rolling Stone. He said that he was “in no way a fan of Alt-J” and that, despite buying their track ‘Left Hand Free’, said they could “f**k right off as far as I’m concerned.” When he was asked why, he replied: “I don't know. One of them's got a moustache, and that's unacceptable.”

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Gus Unger-Hamilton (L) and Thom Green (R) of Alt-J responded to Noel Gallagher

Alt-J’s keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton, the owner of said moustache, shrugged off his remarks, telling BBC’s Newsbeat “I think I said that we'd know we had made it when we were slagged off by Noel Gallagher, so there you go.”

“I'm glad he likes the song, I'm sorry he doesn't like my moustache, but it is here to stay I'm afraid,” he said sportingly. However, his remarks on Twitter were slightly more barbed, where he exclaimed “Thanks for the permission, Noel! *f**ks right off as far as Noel Gallagher is concerned*.”

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The group’s drummer Thom Green also used Twitter to respond to the elder Gallagher’s criticism, with the rather more brutal “F**k you Noel Gallagher you old c**t.” Things could therefore get interesting at this summer’s Latitude Festival, which both artists are scheduled to headline on different nights.

Pop stars Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 also felt the lash of Gallagher’s tongue during the Rolling Stone interview, so it goes to show that it’s nothing personal. Over the years, the songwriter and guitarist has become something of a journalist’s dream, providing top-notch copy and calling the music scene as he sees it without fear of upsetting people.

His second solo album Chasing Yesterday was released earlier this week (March 2nd), and is expected to hit the top of the British album charts on Sunday despite receiving middling reviews. Alt-J, on the other hand, are winning both the critical and the commercial battles with their album, having been nominated for two Brit Awards last week.

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