Alex G - God Save The Animals

[The Mollusk]

A little hesitant to start this thread since it's tough to push new music and the last time I spoke about Alex on here it got a sort of tepid response. BUT HERE I GOOOOO

Long story short, Alex G started out as a bedroom producer making lo-fi folk/alt-country stuff, not afraid to be a bit weird, his excellent songwriting shining through in spite of this and the overall lack of polish. His music is warm and intimate like it's being played by a close friend, but it carries an air of unease and existential longing with it. Deceptively simple but accomplished, he's rightfully earned a big underground following.

His last three albums have seen his music branch into more experimental territory as well as becoming brighter and maturing wonderfully. He has worked with Oneohtrix Point Never and his penchant for digital vocal manipulation and electronic production is not dissimilar from Bon Iver at times.

This new album's due next month and he's dropped three singles so far, all of them very different from one another, and sounding like some of his strongest work to date. I invite you, dear CaB friends, to check these songs out in the following order and see what you think.

Gorgeous alt-country track to start. Absolutely love the way his vocals go all Prince towards the end. "I have done a couple bad things whaaAAUUGHHH"

Totally unlike any of his previous stuff. I'm obsessed with this whole thing at the moment, the bit when the band are all headbanging during the synth outro uughhh yes. Particularly impressed at how this sounds like a pastiche of something you'd hear on a gothy teen drama from the early 2000s and yet it still absolutely bangs.

Autotuned vocals and a surreal video come together to form a message of love and devotion with an edge of anxious uncertainty.

In my opinion drops like this are how you properly hype up an album. I'm hooked.

[Pete23]

Not a fan of the first one but love the other two, might even check the album out. Cheers for posting!

[selectivememory]

I'm very fond of House of Sugar, so cheers for the heads-up, as I might have missed this otherwise. Like the new songs on a first listen, but I think I'll wait until I can hear the album as a whole before I listen again.

[amputeeporn]

Love him - he's never missed yet for me, and I love what I've heard of this so far. Saw someone say Runner sounds like end credits indie film music, and there's definitely some of that in its DNA, but it's done so well and so sincerely (and has my favourite WTF musical moment of the year in it) that I find myself listening most days, lately.

Very excited for the album - love to hear someone who just seems endlessly curious about the process/like he's pushing himself with each release, but in a really organic way. Kid's the real deal.

[VelourSpirit]

When House of Sugar came out I couldn't stop listening to it for a month, loved it, has to be my favourite artist of the last decade

Love him - he's never missed yet for me, and I love what I've heard of this so far. Saw someone say Runner sounds like end credits indie film music, and there's definitely some of that in its DNA, but it's done so well and so sincerely (and has my favourite WTF musical moment of the year in it) that I find myself listening most days, lately.

Funny since this one actually is the end credits song to an indie film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayW_ojnqBf0

[Crenners]

I've heard only little bits and liked everything but never followed it up. Some great stuff there in the OP so I will definitely get this and give him a good listen.

[The Mollusk]

I've heard only little bits and liked everything but never followed it up. Some great stuff there in the OP so I will definitely get this and give him a good listen.

Was tempted to tag you actually as I figured you'd dig it. I recommend checking out the album Rocket as it's probably the most solid of his more recent polished material (in my oh so humble opinion). After that, of the older scrappier stuff, Trick is a brilliant album too.

Interesting to read the love for House of Sugar here, since it's the one that took the longest to click for me and it's only in the last couple of weeks that I've come to really appreciate the more experimental directions the album takes across its middle few songs.

Very excited for the album - love to hear someone who just seems endlessly curious about the process/like he's pushing himself with each release, but in a really organic way. Kid's the real deal.

Absolutely. And to top it all off he's the most unassuming and lovely (and handsome, jeez) guy. I've seen a bunch of comments mentioning that they bumped into him in local bars and played pool with him or whatever and he's always super friendly and loves meeting and getting to know people. I think he has a real grasp of the human spirit and he utilises that to great effect in his art. Nothing has to be so complicated, it's just simple thoughts and feelings and then they just pour out of him into this increasingly gorgeous music. A fantastic talent.

[Crenners]

@The Mollusk Cheers, I will check out Rocket first in that case. Got a weekend away (because had to cancel a holiday to Amsterdam 😥) so I'll get on it once I'm back. Separately, and I know you're less into his newer stuff, I'd be interested in what you make of the new PB. In My Body, Whirlpool and Danger are hitting hardest for me.

[The Mollusk]

It's on my list mon frere!

[selectivememory]

This is out today btw. Need to give it a proper listen, but I like what I've heard of it so far. "Runner" is a lovely song.

[The Mollusk]

Ugh I've got the most stinking cold and I'm so excited to listen to this but I don't think I could clear my head enough to appreciate it fully. People saying it's his best/most cohesive record so far which has got me drooling even more.

edit: fuck it, hold my Lemsip I'm goin' in

[The Mollusk]

Ugh, yeah, first listen and I fuckin love this already. Even managed to summon the mental energy to knock up a review during/after listening to it:


Since 2017's Rocket when Alex G pushed forward not just into brighter and more polished production methods but also harder edged experimentation, there seems to have been a struggle to make the latter really fit into his oeuvre. It took me a good couple of years to come back and really appreciate the weirder stuff on House of Sugar, and honestly even now I can forgive myself for skipping "Horse" and "Brick" from the otherwise brilliant Rocket, but on GSTA the experimentation fits in wonderfully alongside the more tender and straightforward numbers, creating a far more seamless and less abrasive join of the two styles. This reveals a new level to Alex's confidence as a songwriter which has resulted in his most refined and accomplished album to date.

Alex has always had an uncanny knack for conveying a lot whilst saying relatively little, his earnest and unpretentious lyrics belying a sense of innocence or anxiety which resonate on a far deeper and more visceral level. Here, as the album title somewhat implies, he brings (what I'm assuming to be) Christian faith to the table. At a glance, lyrics to songs like "Blessing" or "Miracles" could seem deliberately glib, but they carry the same sincere humility of anything else he's ever written. Questioning faith is not an unusual practice, and the uncertainty of wanting to have a child that Alex conveys on "Miracles" runs concurrent with the deliberately uncomplicated emotional paths he's taken on a lot of his work before it. Love, doubt, hope and fear.

Instrumentally, this album is gorgeous, particularly the piano/keys which, whether they're driving a song hard or merely fluttering in the background, carry the songs beautifully. The drums are frequently high and bright in the mix, and yet despite their insistence they seldom stray far from a basic 4x4 beat, again serving to accentuate the power of simplicity in Alex's music. Also, drawing back to my earlier comments on experimentation, the autotune and other vocal manipulation here sounds like less of a deliberate statement piece and more like part of the furniture. Where swerves into stranger territory on Rocket and House of Sugar were jarring, here they are natural and easy. Above all else, this is 45 minutes of rich and open-hearted music which (based on how obsessive I got constantly watching the videos for the singles before the full release, at least) will doubtless provide a wealth of rewarding repeat listens. I can't wait.

[imitationleather]

Well I think it's a load of old shite soz

[imitationleather]

Actually I've only just started track 1 lol had you all fooled.

I kind of prefer the earlier and rougher stuff though (me favourite album by him is Trick) so I dunno if the sound becoming even more lush and layered than the last one is really going to be for me. I usually hate that one man with a guitar kind of thing, but it really fits him perfectly.

[SteveDave]

Thanks to this (Kleenex Girl Wonder) and Mikael Ramel, you've now recommended two of my most favourite new (to me) musical things of 2022 The Mollusk.

2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[imitationleather]

Really like the final four tracks/cuts a lot, which suggests that maybe I'd loosened my arsehole enough by then to just enjoy it despite it sounding not quite like I'd hoped and if I listen to the rest of it again with that same attitude I'll find it's all good.

[The Mollusk]

2 out of 3 ain't bad.

cuts

Go ahead boys just take a big steamy shite on my Saturday morning 😭😭😭

[kitsofan34]

This is veeeery good.

[imitationleather]

I am thankful to Alex for delivering these cuts to us.

[The Mollusk]

I'll be delivering cuts to you in a minute if you don't watch it mate 😤⚔️

[dontpaintyourteeth]

One day I'll see this geez name and not confuse it with Dario G

[lankyguy95]

This is so...light. Like there's a lot going on and there's plenty of variation but it just feels so easy. Really impressive. Production and mix are fantastic; some of those drums sounds are delicious.

Honestly, I'm not sure how often I'll listen to it; I haven't really read the lyrics but there's something of it that frequently feels dangerously close to drifting into mawkishness to me and these days I'm (probably overly) sensitive to that. But maybe by next week or something I'll have fallen in love with it. It is extremely well made.

[Ja'moke]

I love Alex G and this latest album doesn't disappoint. Not sure if it's quite as good as his previous album, though.

[imitationleather]

It doesn't have a CERTIFIED BANGER like Gretel.

[imitationleather]

Gretel comes on and there is no doubt. You know you are listening to music.

[The Mollusk]

Yeah, "Gretel" is an incredible song and honestly I was disappointed with the album since nothing comes close to how good it is. It took a long time for that album to grow on me.

[imitationleather]

This album sounds more like Gretel than the rest of the last one did.

I too found that album hard to get into because Gretel was the first cut I heard by him and then I listened to the rest and was like "Oh everything else just sounds like normal."

[holyzombiejesus]

I watched a film last week, can't remember what it was now but there was a nice song over the final credits which turned out to be by this Alex G character. I've been meaning to check him out since then so will do now.

[selectivememory]

House of Sugar is definitely more my kind of thing; some very Elliott Smith vibes on a lot of that album, which I loved.

But this one is still pretty good. I can't say it's making much impression on me though. I have trouble recalling all but a couple of the songs even after giving it several spins. But it's pleasant enough to listen to.

[The Mollusk]

His pleading almost crying voice on "Forgive" is so fucking good. I really do think his confidence as an artist is at its peak here. The Prince-esque way he sings "I have done a couple bad things" on "Runner" is joyous as well.