Beach Music sounds like an assembly of parts that could collapse in a minute were it not for Giannascoli at the center holding everything together.
Whether it haunts you, puts you in a dreamlike state, or simply makes you hum along, Beach Music is an album which should be listened to without hesitation.
Beach Music never really settles into a groove with each of these songs sounding as if they’ve come from a different place musically and emotionally; although it is fair to say that Beach Music is perhaps a more melancholic beast to its predecessor.
While this style of 90s US alt.indie is having another moment, G’s debut is the loner colt among the show ponies. His lush lo-fi recalls battered VHS tape recordings of MTV2 reruns found in a bin and lovingly restored.
Like the previous cult favourites he has to his name, ‘Beach Music’ hits gorgeous highs without making a big fuss.
Beach Music, Alex G’s first major wax-plated step outside the bedroom is predictably secure. But it’s also exploratory of his changing landscape, one that’s situated like unauthorized speech-class notecards, articulating each situation and character but still allowing for cracks and incongruity.
Despite its experimental elements and trippy sensibility, Beach Music is relentlessly intimate, moving, and hard to shake -- a notable trait for a young if experienced recording artist.
Beneath the rough-hewn veneer and casual disposition there’s considerable ambition and imagination at play.
Beach Music feels like the work of an artist a few steps ahead of his audience, jumping to answer their expectations of a DIY darling taking on the trappings of a label. He stuck to his roots, recorded at home, and embraced his eccentricities.
What is remarkable about Beach Music is that some of these arrangements beg for you to dismiss them, the way you might have the very first time you heard Pavement, but what at first feels sloppy and clogged is actually intricate upon closer inspection.
Beach Music finds him expanding stylistically, song by song.
There is a seam of quality that runs all the way through this record, and Alex G is a young guy whose talent does in fact match his work rate and eagerness to share his music.
This is the kind of generously tuneful, unobtrusive and - it must be said - grown-up record that can make drearily protracted work hours feel a bit more manageable.
Alex G is the king of short song titles
Woahhhhh okay this is my favorite one so far. It’s weird because I feel like this shouldn’t be my favorite one from Mr G, but it just is. It’’s a much more moody and patient record. I love the amount of variety here, and I feel like this album ventures off a little bit more than his past records. I really love that because sometimes it can get a little stale without it. A great example of this is the song In Love, which is my ... read more
this album always gets a lot less love than most of his other projects and all I can say is THIS IS THE ONE. pure magic all over this record, just gotta let it show itself.
Album a day 2023 #86
Alex g continues to impress me with his music, beach music has a lot more variety than some of his other projects and while a few songs fall flat it's more often consistent than inconsistent. Vocals are enjoyable as always and I think I only have one more album of his to do so that's exciting
#10 | / | SPIN |