Latest news with #Headlights
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
New music: Michael Clifford, Alex G, GoGo Penguin, Visiting Rachmaninoff
Michael Clifford Sidequest (Hopeless) More than a decade ago, the Australian pop-punk boy band 5 Seconds of Summer emerged as charming genre-revivalists. The 2014 career-making single She Looks So Perfect was all palm-muted power chords and gang vocals, a familiar sound for fans of the Warped Tour scene. In the years since, the quartet evolved into a full-on arena pop-rock act, taking turns at releasing solo material. Next up is lead guitarist Michael Clifford, the edgiest of the bunch, with a spirited solo debut album that feels truer to the band's earliest material than their most recent. Ten energetic, introspective tracks form a tight album that explores self-doubt, fame and romance. The songs are pop-punk in spirit but deviate from the formula with a stadium-sized production: experimental electronics, big synths and versatile vocals. And it is an emotional journey. The lovesick opener Kill Me for Always, featuring Porter Robinson, sets the stage, with its scintillating mix of electronica and bass. The sound of Cool acts as the strongest evidence of Clifford's former boy band roots. It's self-deprecating and self-aware. In an album stuffed with energetic songs juxtaposed with existential lyrics, the best track arrives at a midpoint high in Enough. 'At 3 a.m. awake again / I can see all of the damage you've done,' Clifford sings through an evocative rasp. 'With friends like you who needs a loaded gun.' Sidequest sets out to prove it's both a culmination of the last decade of Clifford's life and a deviation from it, as he steps into his own sound. Thankfully, for fans, it succeeds. The debut album reflects Clifford's maturation and self-agency, despite the insecurities and doubts that creep in throughout. ★★★½ out of five Stream: Enough; Cool — Rachel S. Hunt, The Associated Press Alex G Headlights (RCA) Fame is a double-edge sword. Though it comes with obvious perks — money, opportunity and praise — it can also prompt a kind of existential reckoning. Now what? Is this all there is? Am I changed because of it and, if so, for better or for worse? This is the kind of wrestling Alex Giannascoli, better known as the influential indie rocker Alex G, performs on Headlights, his 10th album and first on a major label. Although Giannascoli achieved success early in his career — collaborating with Frank Ocean on his critically acclaimed 2016 album Blonde and joining the R&B superstar on tour — he has, until recently, been more frequently labelled a cult indie figure than a household name. But the 32-year-old has risen to prominence in recent years, particularly after his 2022 album, God Save the Animals, which marked a distinct shift from his austere, lo-fi sound to more robust production and instrumentation. He has since collaborated with the pop star Halsey on her latest record and scored filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun's horror hit, I Saw the TV Glow. That trajectory informs Giannascoli's contemplative poignancy on Headlights. 'Some things I do for love / Some things I do for money / It ain't like I don't want it / It ain't like I'm above it,' he admits on the Beam Me Up, his whirring guitars strumming mesmerizingly against airy background vocals. Many of his lyrics are poetically inscrutable, but there are also moments of explicit frankness about ambition, self-doubt, transition and success. With Headlights, Giannascoli continues further down his God Save the Animals sonic pivot to higher fidelity, recording in studios in lieu of his home for a more ornate sound. ★★★★ out of five Stream: Beam Me Up; Bounce Boy — Krysta Fauria, The Associated Press GoGo Penguin Necessary Fictions (XXIM) GoGo Penguin is a trio from Manchester, England, helping with the ongoing development of the possibilities of a jazz trio. (The name came about as a need to find a name for the group quickly at the start of its career. The members decided on GoGo Penguin based on an apparently ugly stuffed penguin bought by one of the band members.) The band stopped performing for several years recently, owing to personal losses and health issues. The jazz world celebrates their 'rebirth.' The trio is Chris Illingworth on piano, Nick Blacka on bass and Jon Scott on drums. Its sound is distinctive, incorporating influences from various rock and classical elements as well as the solid jazz foundation. Common features include what is described as a minimalist piano style, but even more dramatic is a pattern of a repeated foundational riff that becomes a relentless continuo. It drives the rhythm forward in fascinating patterns as the melody and harmonies swirl around it. The opening track, Umbra, is an example of the trio's style that sets the album up beautifully. What We Are and What We Are Meant To Be also takes the gentle melody and delivers it in a driving rhythmic underpinning. Unlike earlier releases, for the first time there is a guest vocalist, Daudi Matsiko, on Forgive the Damages, and an eight-piece string group called the Manchester Collective on several tracks. Luminous Giants and State of Flux put all the pieces together while maintaining the trio's signature sound. This album is a wonderful example of a trio developing an intent and experimentation while maintaining the sound and style for which they have been known. An ugly stuffed penguin might have led to its name, but GoGo Penguin is beautiful. ★★★★½ Stream: Naga Ghost, The Turn Within — Keith Black Visiting Rachmaninoff Alexander Melnikov, Julia Lezhneva (Harmonia Mundi) In this thoughtful new release, pianist Alexander Melnikov performs Rachmaninoff's Variations on a Theme by Chopin, Op. 22, a set of 22 short variations penned in 1902-03 and based on its namesake composer's Prelude in C minor (Op. 28, No. 20). What is particularly noteworthy is that Melnikov paid a visit to Rachmaninoff's last summer home. located at Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, recording the work on the 20th century composer's personal Steinway piano, thus inviting listeners into his unique soundworld. Melnikov's artistry allows him to craft each variation as its own distinct entity; each proving no match for his virtuosic technique. Following his dramatically rendered opening theme, the pianist then launches into the work with gusto. Particular highlights include such quicker-paced variations as the third and eighth, as well as the slower, more expressive offerings as Variation XVI, Lento, which flows into Variation 17, Grave, the latter highly introspective. Also featured is a selection of Rachmaninoff's 15 Romances, Opp. 21, 26 and 34 with Melnikov joined by renowned soprano Julia Lezhneva. This provides satisfying musical contrast as well as the opportunity to hear the luminous artist plumb the depths of each piece. Her deeply felt interpretations of No. 9, Again, I am alone, and No. 10, Before my window, both excerpted from Op. 26, are additional album highlights, further showcasing the singer's innate expressiveness and steeped-in-Russian soul. ★★★★ out of five Stream: Variations on a Theme by Chopin, Op. 22; 15 Romances, Op. 26, Before my window — Holly Harris
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
New music: Michael Clifford, Alex G, GoGo Penguin, Alexander Melnikov
Michael Clifford Sidequest (Hopeless) More than a decade ago, the Australian pop-punk boy band 5 Seconds of Summer emerged as charming genre-revivalists. The 2014 career-making single She Looks So Perfect was all palm-muted power chords and gang vocals, a familiar sound for fans of the Warped Tour scene. In the years since, the quartet evolved into a full-on arena pop-rock act, taking turns at releasing solo material. Next up is lead guitarist Michael Clifford, the edgiest of the bunch, with a spirited solo debut album that feels truer to the band's earliest material than their most recent. Ten energetic, introspective tracks form a tight album that explores self-doubt, fame and romance. The songs are pop-punk in spirit but deviate from the formula with a stadium-sized production: experimental electronics, big synths and versatile vocals. And it is an emotional journey. The lovesick opener Kill Me for Always, featuring Porter Robinson, sets the stage, with its scintillating mix of electronica and bass. The sound of Cool acts as the strongest evidence of Clifford's former boy band roots. It's self-deprecating and self-aware. In an album stuffed with energetic songs juxtaposed with existential lyrics, the best track arrives at a midpoint high in Enough. 'At 3 a.m. awake again / I can see all of the damage you've done,' Clifford sings through an evocative rasp. 'With friends like you who needs a loaded gun.' Sidequest sets out to prove it's both a culmination of the last decade of Clifford's life and a deviation from it, as he steps into his own sound. Thankfully, for fans, it succeeds. The debut album reflects Clifford's maturation and self-agency, despite the insecurities and doubts that creep in throughout. ★★★½ out of five Stream: Enough; Cool — Rachel S. Hunt, The Associated Press Alex G Headlights (RCA) Fame is a double-edge sword. Though it comes with obvious perks — money, opportunity and praise — it can also prompt a kind of existential reckoning. Now what? Is this all there is? Am I changed because of it and, if so, for better or for worse? This is the kind of wrestling Alex Giannascoli, better known as the influential indie rocker Alex G, performs on Headlights, his 10th album and first on a major label. Although Giannascoli achieved success early in his career — collaborating with Frank Ocean on his critically acclaimed 2016 album Blonde and joining the R&B superstar on tour — he has, until recently, been more frequently labelled a cult indie figure than a household name. But the 32-year-old has risen to prominence in recent years, particularly after his 2022 album, God Save the Animals, which marked a distinct shift from his austere, lo-fi sound to more robust production and instrumentation. He has since collaborated with the pop star Halsey on her latest record and scored filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun's horror hit, I Saw the TV Glow. That trajectory informs Giannascoli's contemplative poignancy on Headlights. 'Some things I do for love / Some things I do for money / It ain't like I don't want it / It ain't like I'm above it,' he admits on the Beam Me Up, his whirring guitars strumming mesmerizingly against airy background vocals. Many of his lyrics are poetically inscrutable, but there are also moments of explicit frankness about ambition, self-doubt, transition and success. With Headlights, Giannascoli continues further down his God Save the Animals sonic pivot to higher fidelity, recording in studios in lieu of his home for a more ornate sound. ★★★★ out of five Stream: Beam Me Up; Bounce Boy — Krysta Fauria, The Associated Press GoGo Penguin Necessary Fictions (XXIM) GoGo Penguin is a trio from Manchester, England, helping with the ongoing development of the possibilities of a jazz trio. (The name came about as a need to find a name for the group quickly at the start of its career. The members decided on GoGo Penguin based on an apparently ugly stuffed penguin bought by one of the band members.) The band stopped performing for several years recently, owing to personal losses and health issues. The jazz world celebrates their 'rebirth.' The trio is Chris Illingworth on piano, Nick Blacka on bass and Jon Scott on drums. Its sound is distinctive, incorporating influences from various rock and classical elements as well as the solid jazz foundation. Common features include what is described as a minimalist piano style, but even more dramatic is a pattern of a repeated foundational riff that becomes a relentless continuo. It drives the rhythm forward in fascinating patterns as the melody and harmonies swirl around it. The opening track, Umbra, is an example of the trio's style that sets the album up beautifully. What We Are and What We Are Meant To Be also takes the gentle melody and delivers it in a driving rhythmic underpinning. Unlike earlier releases, for the first time there is a guest vocalist, Daudi Matsiko, on Forgive the Damages, and an eight-piece string group called the Manchester Collective on several tracks. Luminous Giants and State of Flux put all the pieces together while maintaining the trio's signature sound. This album is a wonderful example of a trio developing an intent and experimentation while maintaining the sound and style for which they have been known. An ugly stuffed penguin might have led to its name, but GoGo Penguin is beautiful. ★★★★½ Stream: Naga Ghost, The Turn Within — Keith Black Visiting Rachmaninoff Alexander Melnikov, Julia Lezhneva (Harmonia Mundi) In this thoughtful new release, pianist Alexander Melnikov performs Rachmaninoff's Variations on a Theme by Chopin, Op. 22, a set of 22 short variations penned in 1902-03 and based on its namesake composer's Prelude in C minor (Op. 28, No. 20). What is particularly noteworthy is that Melnikov paid a visit to Rachmaninoff's last summer home. located at Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, recording the work on the 20th century composer's personal Steinway piano, thus inviting listeners into his unique soundworld. Melnikov's artistry allows him to craft each variation as its own distinct entity; each proving no match for his virtuosic technique. Following his dramatically rendered opening theme, the pianist then launches into the work with gusto. Particular highlights include such quicker-paced variations as the third and eighth, as well as the slower, more expressive offerings as Variation XVI, Lento, which flows into Variation 17, Grave, the latter highly introspective. Also featured is a selection of Rachmaninoff's 15 Romances, Opp. 21, 26 and 34 with Melnikov joined by renowned soprano Julia Lezhneva. This provides satisfying musical contrast as well as the opportunity to hear the luminous artist plumb the depths of each piece. Her deeply felt interpretations of No. 9, Again, I am alone, and No. 10, Before my window, both excerpted from Op. 26, are additional album highlights, further showcasing the singer's innate expressiveness and steeped-in-Russian soul. ★★★★ out of five Stream: Variations on a Theme by Chopin, Op. 22; 15 Romances, Op. 26, Before my window — Holly Harris
Sydney Morning Herald
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Indie rock's favourite songwriter keeps it real on his major label debut
Alex G, Headlights Contradictions? Alex G, full name Alex Giannascoli, has a bunch of them. The Philadelphia musician-producer shuns social media, but The Fader once called him 'the internet's secret best songwriter' as he made his name online via word-of-mouth blogs and message boards, self-releasing albums and EPs on Bandcamp. He's got a lot to say on record – he's only 32, and Headlights is his 10th album – but many interviewers have found that trying to get him to talk about himself or his music is like pulling teeth, and his stage presence was once described in a live review as 'almost shockingly dull', with that summation coming from a critic who declared Alex G was his favourite musician of the last decade. Although he's often compared to '90s indie acts, including Elliott Smith, Built to Spill and Modest Mouse, he's possibly better known to general pop audiences for contributing to eight tracks on Halsey's The Great Impersonator and for writing and singing on Frank Ocean's Blonde and Endless, and also playing in his touring band. Headlights marks a shift from indie label Domino to major label RCA, not that you'll notice a huge difference in Giannascoli's approach. June Guitar opens proceedings, not with any fanfare but with a feather-light touch, on a gauzy, meditative song that hugs a lane close to Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. First single Afterlife wears its country-folk influences on its sleeve, from the sparkling mandolins and acoustic guitar to the video set at a square dance, as Giannascoli recounts a revelation of some sort, singing 'when the light came, big and bright, I began another life'. A couple of tracks push the meter into the red – Louisiana offsets dreamy Auto-Tuned vocals with sledgehammer drums; Bounce Boy has octave-leaping bass, fuzzy synth and an electro-clap beat.
The Age
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Indie rock's favourite songwriter keeps it real on his major label debut
Alex G, Headlights Contradictions? Alex G, full name Alex Giannascoli, has a bunch of them. The Philadelphia musician-producer shuns social media, but The Fader once called him 'the internet's secret best songwriter' as he made his name online via word-of-mouth blogs and message boards, self-releasing albums and EPs on Bandcamp. He's got a lot to say on record – he's only 32, and Headlights is his 10th album – but many interviewers have found that trying to get him to talk about himself or his music is like pulling teeth, and his stage presence was once described in a live review as 'almost shockingly dull', with that summation coming from a critic who declared Alex G was his favourite musician of the last decade. Although he's often compared to '90s indie acts, including Elliott Smith, Built to Spill and Modest Mouse, he's possibly better known to general pop audiences for contributing to eight tracks on Halsey's The Great Impersonator and for writing and singing on Frank Ocean's Blonde and Endless, and also playing in his touring band. Headlights marks a shift from indie label Domino to major label RCA, not that you'll notice a huge difference in Giannascoli's approach. June Guitar opens proceedings, not with any fanfare but with a feather-light touch, on a gauzy, meditative song that hugs a lane close to Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. First single Afterlife wears its country-folk influences on its sleeve, from the sparkling mandolins and acoustic guitar to the video set at a square dance, as Giannascoli recounts a revelation of some sort, singing 'when the light came, big and bright, I began another life'. A couple of tracks push the meter into the red – Louisiana offsets dreamy Auto-Tuned vocals with sledgehammer drums; Bounce Boy has octave-leaping bass, fuzzy synth and an electro-clap beat.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alex G's ‘Headlights' Is a Low-Key Gem in a Catalog Full of 'Em
Hitting play on a new Alex G album can feel a little bit like that sequence in Alan Moore's Watchmen comics where Doctor Manhattan sits on a rock on Mars, pondering the nature of time. It's 2014. I'm listening to an oddly moving song that Alex G recorded by himself in a small room in Philadelphia… It's 2019. I'm listening to an oddly moving song that Alex G recorded by himself in a slightly bigger room in Philadelphia… It's 2022. I'm listening to an oddly moving song that Alex G recorded by himself in yet another room in yet another part of Philadelphia… It's 2025. That brings us to Headlights, the indie-rock hero's tenth album, and his first for RCA Records. There was a time — let's call it the Nineties — when an artist like Alex Giannascoli signing to a major label would have felt like a seismic shift, complete with passionate arguments both pro and con in photocopied zines across the land. But that world is long gone, thanks in part to the revolution that Giannascoli and his generation of DIY auteurs led in the 2010s. He was one of the first and finest acts to break through to a national audience by posting his home-recorded music straight to Bandcamp starting in his teens. By the time publications like Rolling Stone began writing about him, he was already four years and several albums deep into a catalog full of low-key profundity. More from Rolling Stone Alex G Announces New Album 'Headlights,' Shares First Track, 'Afterlife' Alex G Unveils 2025 North American Tour Dates Jack White, Cigarettes After Sex, Alex G Lead Desert Daze 2024 He hasn't veered far from that course in the decade-plus since then, and why should he? His tried-and-true methods haven't stopped yielding uncannily compelling results, no matter the size of the label releasing them. Find a seat on that Martian landscape and pop on some headphones for Headlights, and you'll be greeted by the chiming chords and quiet wisdom of 'June Guitar.' 'Love ain't for the young, anyhow/Something that you learn from falling down,' Giannascoli sings in one of many choruses you'll find echoing through your gauziest daydreams for years to come. He's the only musician credited on that song — playing acoustic guitar, bass, drums, and what sounds like a harmonium, with longtime co-producer Jacob Portrait behind the boards — and his ability to create a sound this magical and lived-in that way remains remarkable, like whole histories of folk and rock music are expressing themselves through this one chill guy. His live bandmates have even less presence on this album than usual, appearing on just one track, the energetic closing singalong 'Logan Hotel (Live)' (which he has admitted is 'basically a studio song' despite that subtitle). Otherwise, this is Alex being Alex. There's some back-porch strumming, some ambiguous yet powerful imagery, and an occasional splash of vocal processing, all presented with an appealing, off-the-cuff looseness. On the casually tuneful 'Real Thing,' he opens with a couple of verses that sound like honest reflections of his (or someone's) life — 'Hoping I can make it through to April/On whatever's left of all this label cash' — before lapsing into a wordless coda. On 'Is It Still You in There?' he lets a trio of guest singers including Molly Germer, his partner of many years, deliver his words of eerie self-interrogation: 'Has your wish come true?/Is there nothing left between the world and you?' And despite those hints of doubt elsewhere on the record, songs like the warm, nostalgic 'Oranges' and the bright, bluegrass-tinged 'Afterlife' are up there with his most life-affirming exaltations. The bottom line is the same as it's always been: You either find this stuff brilliant or you don't. The number of people who do now includes enough true believers to fill many large theaters, as well as celebrity fans like Halsey and Frank Ocean (both of whom have tapped him as a session guitarist, as he's no doubt tired of being asked about in interviews). Alex G's cult audience has never been bigger or more welcoming. Whether you've been riding with him for years or you're thinking of joining up today, Headlights is an album that won't make you regret that choice. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked Solve the daily Crossword
