Back in May, Alex G’s (Alexander Giannascoli) threw us quite the curveball with the darkly dirgy psychedelic freakout “Blessing,” and this month, the Philadelphia experimental act continues to explore the various sides of his sound on “Runner.” Featured on his forthcoming ninth album, “God Save the Animals”, “Runner” is a bright and brilliant celebration of friendship that exudes a genuine heartland-rock soul: “I like people who I can open up to/Who don’t judge for what I say, but judge me for what I do.
Alex G’s ninth studio album, “God Save the Animals”, is further proof that he’s the Brian Wilson of the millennial generation. The 13-track release finds him once again covering considerable sonic ground, from introspective folk, hyperpop, emo, and ‘90s alt rock that almost feels cinematic in scope. Whether he’s modulating and pitch-shifting his voice or stripping his arrangements down to their bare bones, Alex G’s music is as beautiful as it is unsettling. Even when he ventures into strictly instrumental territory with tracks like “S.D.O.S,” he still conveys so much emotion and meaning. “God Save the Animals” is Alex G at peak form — defying any creative limitations in pursuit of constant exploration.
“God” figures in the ninth album from Philadelphia, PA based Alex Giannascoli’s LP’s title, its first song, and multiple of its thirteen tracks thereafter, not as a concrete religious entity but as a sign for a generalized sense of faith (in something, anything) that fortifies Giannascoli, or the characters he voices, amid the songs’ often fraught situations.
Beyond the ambient inspiration of pop, Giannascoli has been drawn in recent years to artists who balance the public and hermetic, the oblique and the intimate, and who present faith more as a shared social language than religious doctrine.
As with his previous records, Giannascoli wrote and demoed these songs by himself, at home; but, for the sake of both new tones and “a routine that was outside of my apartment,” he asked some half-dozen engineers to help him produce the “best” recording quality, whatever that meant. The result is an album more dynamic than ever in its sonic palette.
‘God Save The Animals’ out 23rd September 2022 on Domino Recordings.
The Fat Angel Sings 