(Sandy) Alex G

Rocket

Written by: MIN on 21/10/2017 17:07:40

After having worked with Frank Ocean in 2016, Alexander Giannascoli’s alternate name (Sandy) Alex G (previously Alex G) started popping up several places around the internet. However, Giannascoli has apparently been working under this alias for quite a while despite his modest age of 24. Earlier this year, he released his seventh LP, titled “Rocket”, which is our point of entry here at Rockfreaks. Off the bat, (Sandy) Alex G’s music on “Rocket” is a highly experimental approach to lo-fi indie-rock with a taste for country and bluegrass, while also venturing into other terrain, making sure there’s something for everyone throughout the record’s 41-minute duration.

The first few songs on “Rocket” have a high emphasize on Giannascoli’s likeable and digestive country/bluegrass material. Especially the first single, “Proud” – a song concerning an unhealthy infatuation – makes five minutes fly by like nothing. Accompanied by a sparse yet effective lyric sheet, the fat-bottom contrabass and acoustic guitar creates a perfect mid-tempo for the beautiful piano to occasionally break up, ultimately floating somewhere between saloon-blues and an old fashioned American barnyard ball. “Bobby”, one of the most endearingly depressing songs you’re likely to hear all year, slows down for a while as a sharp violin takes front seat before a gorgeous duet between Giannascoli and indie-folk artist Emily Yacina begins: I paint pictures of my heart // The colors blue and purple start // To bleed into an endless dark // It’s only you, it’s only you.

The album’s middle-section is where things start to get really weird. “Witch” has Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) written all over it, while “Brick” sounds like listening to punk/industrial/hip-hop trio Death Grips through a cup that’s covering your speakers. “Sportstar” then brings you back down to Earth with an intimate Frank Ocean-sounding vocoder-drenched piano-piece. A few short songs later, you’re being thrown back into safe territory as “Powerful Man” settles into country once again, only interrupted by the gorgeous ending, which sees Giannascoli’s vocals hidden beneath a layer of acoustic guitar, a violin and a soft yet unstoppable piano.

“Rocket” is one of the year’s most interesting indie records, and it shows massive potential. Although it’s easy to fall behind during some of the album’s more experimental pieces – which, honestly, sometimes feel more like just that than like actual songs – they show Giannascoli’s potential. If he manages to intertwine his more experimental ideas with the stand-out full-fleshed material in the future, we’ll be hearing some great things from the hands of Alex G. Until then, there’s a lot of discography to discover.

7

Download: Proud, Bobby, Powerful Man
For The Fans Of: Elvis Depressedly, Elliot Smith, Mount Eerie
Listen: Facebook

Release date 19.05.2017
Domino Recording Company


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