By DJ MamaCD
Since Race was released on August 9, 2011, the music of Alex G has maintained relevance – and with good reason. When Sandy came on the scene, no one might've expected his work to ring true in the hearts of so many. I’ve come to consider Alex G a sort of lo-fi Sufjan Stevens: a storyteller and poet with a kitschy quality that stays ringing in your ears. It only makes sense for his freshman album, which is so centered around adolescence, to be living a renaissance with young people today.
In the briefness of a half-hour, Race takes the listener on a journey through death and growing, humanism and melancholy, love and despair, whilst establishing the homemade brilliance of the artist.
“Remember”: A simplistic guitar harmony with a twangy fingerpicking laid gently over. This two-minute track’s straightforward lyrics are melancholy with an underscore of religiosity contrasted with the safety and control of a life without God. “Please don’t help me” repeats Alex’s voice, tired and begging, and then it’s over.
“The Same”: Alex G envisions the falseness of girlhood and dysphoria in a way that feels unexpected. But it’s feelings like this that make Race so powerful. The album in its entirety feels universal. It’s growing up, and you can feel it. The noises of static and distortion that one has come to associate with Alex G’s are born, and their sound captures the fog of growing up all over again. The listener wonders where Alex could’ve learned these things, where he might have lived all of these lives, and it all feels prophetic in a way.
“TV”: Another short but powerful track. The dissonance of an absentee father and the longing for connection. A repetitive riff carries the melody of the song before more distortion highlights the lo-fi textures that make this album a gem. The ghostly oohing of Alex’s falsetto rings in your ears after. The eerie and dream-like lyrics “Cause you don't come around anymore / And I don't know what it's for” capture an unexacting quality that manages to stay with the listener.
“Gnaw”: “Gnaw” feels like the album's focus. Alex's classic storytelling emerges for the first time. For me, this a highlight of the album and the most compelling lyric-wise. The double-tracked vocals and off-beat instrumentals make this song feel orchestral whilst maintaining that low-fidelity feel. The finale of the song is full of life – with guitars and bass and cymbals and yips and chants.
“Trash”: A two-and-a-half-minute song that takes a turn from the previous tracks with a medley drenched in mischief and dissonance. Alex says “ok” and you feel that he’s just broken through some sort of wall. The sounds are novel but maintain a classic ease that contradicts its strange lyrics. You almost don’t notice the transition from mischief and play to something more sinister.
“House”: A poetic track with a sound that seems to pay homage to American Football. The dual vocals are maintained throughout, giving the lyrics the focus they deserve. For instance, “when you’re young / yeah, you’re a loaded gun” and “I remember when you complained about being alone / I could do anything for you.” “House” is a youthful song that plays itself out with some static.
“Crab”: It might be the most playful of the album, and is certainly the most colorful. The track starts with a 20th century piano melody before another use of offbeat drums and delayed dual vocals. It then takes a guitar interlude that is again joined by the piano and a vintage recording. In the opening lyric, Alex rhymes “do you miss me” with “you sad lady,” and somehow it works. Like so much of his work, the unexpected and off-kilter end up feeling like home.
“Go Away”: A 57-second track that sounds like drowning in a lake. It begins like a friendly campfire song before it becomes claustrophobic and strange. Suffocation and nostalgia showcase Alex G’s talent for creating atmosphere in music, which has manifested itself in his work on I Saw the TV Glow and We’re All Going to the World's Fair.
“Let It Go”: “Let It Go” feels full of misery but also promise. The lyrics are straightforward and honest and end with vocals yelling “you can let it go” that take the listener aback. Perhaps the most raw of all the tracks on this album.
“Things to Do”: This is a fan favorite for a reason. The song's – and maybe the album’s – climax: “Hold on tight this time this place/ cause everything you know will be erased/ you’re just a boy you are no man / nobody you know will understand.” (These same lyrics are slowed down and repeated in “Time/ Space,” further emphasizing their importance.) Comprised of nothing but eerie vocals, guitar and what sounds like kazoos, this track captures everything that makes lo-fi great. It’s this track that changed the lo- fi game: it’s memorable and full of a longing that feels deeply emotional and sincere. It is genuine, and that’s what stuck with listeners.
“Cross Country”: “Cross Country” is the album’s only instrumental track. With a bass that you feel in your whole body, the song has a synth for a steady heartbeat and a funky xylophone in the forefront. A restorative minute-long interval before the album’s finale.
The titular “Race” comes in strong with a riffy guitar. Frustrated and angry lyrics and vocals culminate in a stunning cacophony at 1:20. “One two three, ok,” says Alex, and you’d think the band was there with you. An experimental guitar solo at 2:28 lends itself to a ringing and then back to hardcore guitar that ends the album on a note of angst.
In his debut album, Alex G manages the incredible feat of establishing the dawn of a new era of low-fi whilst dragging the listener into a humanistic, strange, and sinister dreamscape that is dripping with nostalgia.
Want more? Find all of KVRX's top 25 albums of the last 25 years here.