Music Review: Cult hero Alex G’s ‘Headlights’ is an introspective meditation on fame
LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Fame is a double-edge sword. Though it comes with obvious perks 鈥 money, opportunity, praise 鈥 it can also prompt a kind of existential reckoning. Now what? Is this all there is? Am I changed because of it and, if so, for better or for worse?
LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Fame is a double-edge sword. Though it comes with obvious perks 鈥 money, opportunity, praise 鈥 it can also prompt a kind of existential reckoning. Now what? Is this all there is? Am I changed because of it and, if so, for better or for worse?
This is the kind of wrestling Alex Giannascoli, better known as the influential indie rocker Alex G, performs on 鈥淗eadlights,鈥 his 10th album and first on a major label. 鈥淗as your wish come true?鈥 he asks, perhaps of himself, on the aptly titled 鈥淚s It Still You In There?鈥
Although Giannascoli achieved quiet success early in his career 鈥 collaborating with on his critically acclaimed 鈥 and joining the R&B superstar on tour 鈥 Giannascoli has, until recently, been more frequently labeled a cult indie figure than a household name.
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But the 32-year-old has risen to prominence in recent years, particularly after his 2022 album, 鈥淕od Save the Animals,鈥 which marked a distinct shift from his austere, lo-fi sound to more robust production and instrumentation. He has since collaborated with the pop star and scored A24 horror hit,
That trajectory informs Giannascoli鈥檚 contemplative poignancy on 鈥淗eadlights,鈥 releasing Friday. 鈥淪ome things I do for love / Some things I do for money / It ain鈥檛 like I don鈥檛 want it / It ain鈥檛 like I鈥檓 above it,鈥 he admits on the 鈥淏eam Me Up,鈥 his whirring guitars strumming mesmerizingly against airy background vocals.
Many of his lyrics here, like in the past, are poetically inscrutable. But there are also moments of explicit frankness about ambition, self-doubt, transition and success. 鈥淗oping I can make it through to April / On whatever鈥檚 left of all this label cash / No I never thought I was the real thing,鈥 he croons on 鈥淩eal Thing,鈥 as a pan flute synthesizer whistles underneath him.
With 鈥淗eadlights,鈥 Giannascoli continues further down his 鈥淕od Save the Animals鈥 sonic pivot to higher fidelity 鈥 perhaps to be expected on an album coming from a major label like RCA Records 鈥 recording in studios in lieu of his home for a more ornate sound.
Think dreamy synths and reverb-soaked riffs. Subdued lyrics and a distorted guitar solo almost turn 鈥淟ouisiana鈥 into 鈥淟ouisiana / Wild and Free / The only one who wanted me,鈥 he repeats with distorted vocals.
If there is a central message to 鈥淗eadlights,鈥 it appears on the song 鈥淏ounce Boy.鈥 鈥淚鈥檓 up in the clouds and I pray,鈥 he sings with pitched-up vocals, one of his signature effects. 鈥淪ay goodbye / To the life / That you knew for so long.鈥
For better or for worse, there is no turning back.
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