Album of the Week: Alex G – Headlights
It’s hard to believe, but Headlights is the tenth album from Alex G, the moniker of American musician Alexander Giannascoli. Following four brilliant records released between 2015 and 2022 on the respected British indie label Domino, Headlights is his first release on RCA Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music. Now, I know what many seasoned indie fans might be thinking: “Here we go—another acclaimed indie artist signs to a major label and drops a record that abandons everything that made them special in the first place.” But we’re happy to report that’s not the case here.
From the very beginning, Headlights feels just like an Alex G record. The opening sequence is extraordinarily strong, it’s ethereal to a point approaching unreality with Giannascoli floating in what often evokes a zero-gravity environment. His delivery is buoyant, and the instrumentation sparkles with vibrant, glistening detail. The lead single Afterlife, along with Beam Me Up and Real Thing, are all early standouts in a splendid opening sequence.
Afterlife shines with a twinkling mandolin line, a masterstroke that enhances the song’s effervescent quality, making it one of Giannascoli’s great ‘anti-anthems.’ Likewise, Beam Me Up is infectiously catchy, full of bright, hopeful energy that feels like a wish for creative freedom and joy. At its best, and it often is at its best, the only thing keeping Alex G grounded here is the guitar cable tethering him to earth.
There’s a strong undercurrent of classic ‘70s singer-songwriter influence throughout the record, think Dylan, Young, Springsteen, but these evocations of Dad-Rock favourites are filtered through a lens that feels distinctly futuristic. Or rather, a retro-futurist aesthetic, like the future as imagined in the 1990s of Giannascoli’s childhood, mirrored in the vibe of the album’s odd, supernatural-cartoon-like cover art.
As seasoned fans might expect, the album’s midsection takes a weirder turn. The expansive Louisiana brings in more prominent electronic textures, pitch-shifted vocals, synthetic swirls, and digital distortions that alter the emotional tone without over-saturation. These moments feel like a reflection of our increasingly tech-infused reality. Still, through the artificial sheen, Giannascoli’s emotional pull remains intact, reminding us that feeling and humanity are essential, even in our increasingly digitised world. Bounce Boy follows suit, operating as a kind of hyper-pop/Americana hybrid with frantic rhythms, warped vocals, and high-speed energy colliding in a strange but compelling burst.
If the middle of Headlights sends Giannascoli drifting into space, the album’s final stretch gently brings him back to earth. Oranges is a plaintive, rootsy track with pastoral shades of early ‘70s Dylan. Its sparse acoustic arrangements are subtly enhanced with glimmering embellishments that suit its unhurried, drifting mood. Far and Wide carries that thread forward with a more naive tone. Balancing a Daniel Johnston-style melody against swooning strings and a softly rippling guitar riff, the track conjures a sense of ambient, quietly cosmic Americana.
The title track, Headlights, rounds out this three song run with something darker, and introspective. Here, Giannascoli’s dreamy vocals are paired with rugged guitars and jarring shards of synth, evoking the feeling of a lonely, late-night drive, one where thoughts swirl and are illuminated in halogen light. Giannascoli’s return to earth is sealed by the superb closing track, a live recording of Logan Hotel that bristles with the ramshackle, restless energy of true rock ’n’ roll.
Ultimately, Headlights feels like an album caught in the space between the real and the artificial. It doesn’t necessarily aim to resolve that tension, but maybe it’s not meant to. What it does offer, for those looking for simpler pleasures, is yet another uniquely beautiful collection of songs from one of the finest indie singer-songwriters of his generation.
Alex G – Headlights is OUT NOW on Vinyl & CD
