In House of Sugar, Alex Giannascoli relinquishes the ownership in authorship, providing a venue for those voices that regale him to decompress, elongate, saunter.
Giannascoli's creativity is endless and as he continues his never-ending output of mysteriously disorienting and strangely familiar songs, he's becoming stronger and weirder with every album.
Showing no desire to even the scales or to polish the extremities of his vision, as we near the end of this decade (Sandy) Alex G has re-established himself and one of our most inventive and intriguing voices.
The enigmatic songwriter’s latest album is full of vignettes that shift to reveal and conceal themselves in ways too unpredictable to be easily faked. It might be his best yet.
House of Sugar is not only special because it is the most consistent, detailed, adventurous Alex G record so far, but because it also clarifies what Giannascoli has been working towards all along and positions itself as an opus of one of this decade’s most defining indie artists.
Though House of Sugar can be a difficult record, those who take the time to delve into its layers will be treated to a piece that captures the modern psyche in a way few other pieces of art manage to do.
Intimate, theatrical, and strange, House of Sugar is designed to reward repeat listens, but like other (Sandy) Alex G sets, it's above all affecting.
Plenty of weirdness still exists on House of Sugar, from the experimental jam of Project 2 to glitchy opener Walk Away, but as a whole, this feels like a cohesive statement.
Through turns wholly strange and ambiguous, it’s often unclear where the breadcrumb trail of 'House Of Sugar' is leading us, but it’s a mind-bending trip worth taking nonetheless.
Across thirteen tracks of ghostly redrawn Americana, his intimate, impressionistic ballads and experimental asides merge to form his clearest statement yet.
On House of Sugar, the unfortunate and forgotten characters of (Sandy) Alex G's stories climb into reality, while his distaste for being confined by genre becomes more adventurous.
These songs might not be his most immediate, but House Of Sugar, it rewards repeated listening as these songs start to reveal their hidden depths with every listen.
House of Sugar tilts its cap at longtime (Sandy) Alex G fanatics, while opening a wide space for newcomers to dive into.
He's a cunning songwriter who will take on a challenge whenever an idea seems to complex to untangle, even if his tender side will always be there.
Alex Giannascoli has often tampered with welding odd and accessible ideas together, but he hasn’t previously succeeded quite this well.
Even House of Sugar’s most fragmentary songs overflow with inescapable earworms of harrowing acoustic chords, sneering electric riffs, hyper-processed vocal snippets, queasy pianos, ghastly synths and simplistic drum programming.
Sometimes the best art is created in a vacuum and in the case of (Sandy) Alex G, the vacuum is lined with infinity relatable and gorgeous inspiration that few and far between can capture.
While every texture isn’t perfect on this record, (Sandy) Alex G has flexed all of his songwriting credentials.
House of Sugar is sprinkled with some brilliant and beautiful ideas, but is on the whole marred by an unsatisfying flow, dodgy songwriting, and faint lead vocals.
I keep waiting for the moment where I actually feel like an adult. I have passed through many of the cultural thresholds. I've graduated from college, I work a full-time job, and I am living far away from my parents and hometown. While these events mark a growing responsibility in my life, I still can't conceptualize myself as an adult. I tend to react quickly and indulge in my vices. I still feel small when talking to 'grown-ups.' I am super pumped for the new Pokemon games this fall. I ... read more
(Sandy) Alex G is one of my favourite success stories for an artist of our generation. He is a product of the DIY independent movement we see through sites such as Bandcamp, allowing him to push his vision through easily accessible music forums. On his third studio album since being signed to Domino Records, Alex has transformed his creative sonic pallet of empathetic lyricism mixed with his minimalist, yet catchy melodies.
His songwriting skills reach new grounds here, with the first half of ... read more
(Sandy) Alex G has become a reference for the indie rock scene this decade. We had left him with his sublime album "Rocket" published in 2017 (the album that I listened the most in 2017, it was real drug) which allowed him to acquire a notoriety. Frank Ocean's collaborator comes back to captivate us once again with his ninth album entitled "House of Sugar".
We are immersed in a fairy tale listening to the beautiful introduction called "Walk Away". From a ... read more
It's almost like a formula: Alex G albums start off super strong, then start experimenting with different genres and moods, then get sad and nostalgic near the end...never change, Alex
sugars instrumental is so beautiful but the autotune voice just absolutely ruins the song for me.
1 | Walk Away 4:16 | 79 |
2 | Hope 2:36 | 87 |
3 | Southern Sky 3:12 | 89 |
4 | Gretel 3:10 | 91 |
5 | Taking 2:14 | 81 |
6 | Near 2:09 | 73 |
7 | Project 2 2:22 | 75 |
8 | Bad Man 1:51 | 72 |
9 | Sugar 2:48 | 80 |
10 | In My Arms 2:43 | 89 |
11 | Cow 2:44 | 86 |
12 | Crime 3:59 | 78 |
13 | Sugarhouse 3:41 | 85 |
#3 | / | Noisey |
#5 | / | Obscure Sound |
#6 | / | No Ripcord |
#6 | / | Stereogum |
#7 | / | The Alternative |
#10 | / | FLOOD |
#10 | / | Gothamist |
#13 | / | Northern Transmissions |
#13 | / | Treble |
#14 | / | Norman Records |