Alex G
Beach Music
DOMINO
6/10
The word “beach” has been so overused in the world of indie rock that it is now almost as meaningless as the word “indie” itself. So, on its face, Beach Music seems like an odd title for the new album from Pennsylvania DIY songwriter Alex G. With close-mic’d acoustic strums, mournful, soft-voiced crooning, poignant lyrics, and experimental sonic whimsy, Alex G’s seventh effort does not sound like the kind of thing you’d throw on the stereo on your way to the ocean. Tracks like the haunting “Bug” and the dreary, emotive “Kicker” are far from cheery. But maybe the listener is wrong to assume the beach about which Alex sings is the often-implied summery West Coast kind. The whole album is clouded with an Elliott Smith shade of gray and laced throughout with Alex’s flourishes of youthful imagination. This particular beach is cold, stony, and shrouded in fog. But it’s a beautiful beach nonetheless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icKDdr9MSps
