Review
Alex G steps into the major label spotlight with "Headlights," his tenth studio offering that finds him collaborating with Jacob Portrait of Unknown Mortal Orchestra to craft something both familiar and refreshingly unpredictable. The 41-minute collection spans twelve tracks that feel like intimate conversations held in dimly lit corners, where accordion flourishes and layered vocal harmonies create an almost cinematic atmosphere. From the Wilco-channeling warmth of "Logan Hotel" to the boldly Auto-Tuned experimentation of "Bounce Boy," this album reads like a love letter to indie rock's most adventurous impulses.
What sets "Headlights" apart is its willingness to embrace the wonderfully weird—alien abduction narratives thread through "Beam Me Up" with the same emotional weight as any earthbound heartbreak. Alex G's Neil Young and Elliott Smith influences surface naturally throughout, but never overshadow his distinctive voice as a storyteller who finds poetry in the peculiar. The closing track, captured live in a Philadelphia hotel with his longtime backing band, feels like the perfect full-circle moment for an artist who continues to blur the lines between the deeply personal and the delightfully strange. - Elodie
