On Thursday night, Alex G showed up at The Ground in New York City to perform songs from his new record, Headlights. But it was much more than that, as the Philly songwriter pulled from every crevice of his catalogue, unleashing a 20-song encore. “Bug,” “Southern Sky,” and “Change” lived in harmony with “Afterlife,” “Oranges,” and “Beam Me Up.” In her review of Alex G’s latest collection, Paste contributor Camryn Teder wrote: “Headlights is his first release with RCA, one that many fans have waited for with bated breath. After all the beautiful anarchy of his last nine LPs, there were concerns: Is this the one where Alex G sells out? [He] is aware of the fears. As he sings in the hypnotic ‘Beam Me Up’: ‘Some things I do for love, some things I do for money.’ The question, then, is what category Headlights falls into.”
“Thankfully, the answer seems to be the former,” she continured. “The record is just as thoughtfully made as the rest of Alex G’s catalogue, but with an entire orchestra behind him. In his capable hands, bellowing accordions are layered atop fuzzed-out guitars, and eccentric pairings feel like effortless fusions. In other words, the support he got from his label boosts his sound for the better. Some of the songs are perfectly fleshed out, and the album is at a higher fidelity than his previous efforts. Other tracks retain that DIY rawness, imperfections and all, but what would an Alex G record be without a couple of head-scratchers? Plus, while other projects have had a heavy, ambiguous lean, Headlights is full of personal anecdotes and meshes the idyllic, old country twang of Rocket with the solemn warmth of Beach Music. Alex G has stepped into another caliber of rock, and he’s taking his transition seriously.”
Our good pal Emilio Herce was on the scene at The Ground capturing Alex G’s set. Check out his gallery below:
