Album Review: Headlights by Alex G

On the cover of Headlights, a child knight raises a sword to a full moon glowing through a cloud-cluttered night sky. It's unclear whether it's a pre-emptive gesture of battle, or a cry of victory. Looking to the heavens is something Alex Giannascoli has been doing a lot recently. In 2022, he gave what could be up there a name and asked for intervention - for the animals, and for himself.

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This latest album, Headlights, is his 10th and his first with the major label RCA Records. It's a massive moment for the lovable, goofy indie rocker from Philadelphia, and a moment he seems hell-bent on avoiding. Headlights is full of self-conscious moments that stress the inevitable decline of success. Within it, Alex Giannascoli is aware of this unlimited opportunity, so he's quiet, anxious, and plays it by the book.

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The songs are proficiently penned, though often devoid of the juggernaut hooks that elevated previous outings, particularly the exhilarating House of Sugar and stunning God Save the Animals. Additionally, the production MO tilts toward the conservative - well-sanded and well-stirred instrumentation. The result - surprisingly, shockingly - is a sequence that is frequently intriguing but rarely riveting.

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At only 32 years old, Philadelphia singer-songwriter Alex Giannascoli, better known as Alex G, has already released ten albums, excluding EPs and his work on soundtracks. Much like Will Toledo from Car Seat Headrest, Alex G started as a Bandcamp sensation, but he eventually leaned into his renown as a primo indie songsmith. Headlights marks his first major label debut with RCA, which brought with it, among other things, a reckoning with his growing stature (as can be heard on the lyrics to “Real Thing”: “Hoping I can make it through to April / On whatever’s left of all this label cash”).

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To suggest that 'Headlights' - this tenth full-length from Philadelphia DIY luminary Alex G - is an evolution would be somewhat of an understatement. Much of his work so far has taken on a mercurial form, weaving through arid lo-fi textures, sharp-edged glitch-pop, and the lush terrain of country-folk. His approach allows him to create intricate worlds for characters to thrive as vessels for patchy storytelling and cryptic mantras.

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There has always been a certain warmth to the sonic world of Alex G. An ineffable, often uncanny familiarity that keeps listeners coming back time and time again, whether they've been with him since his cult self-releases on Bandcamp or the unlikely TikTok virality of 'Treehouse' just a few years back. It's in his imperfect vocals, intimate even when he opts to drench them in autotune.

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