Dylan Haviland – Arts & Entertainment Editor
Performing at the arts building at UCONN on Sept. 19, Philadelphian musician Alexander Giannascoli, known by his stage name Alex G, had the audience under the grip of heartfelt lyrics and fluid melodies. Giannascoli, 22, in a cramped venue of young college students, captured the meaning of maturity and the young artist is finding his path in the music industry, while staying in touch with the audience that grew up with him.
A part of Giannascoli’s growth as an artist is his seventh full length album, “Beach Music,” released on Oct. 9. The 13 track indie rock album is Giannascoli’s first release with Domino Recording Company.
According to his Bandcamp page, “Beach Music,” like many of his self-released albums, was recorded in his apartment between months of touring. The culmination of time and effort from one album and LP to another, 13 in total on his Bandcamp, has made Giannascoli wiser and proficient.
“Beach Music” has the soul of a self-recorded album, the individual detail put into every track is spared from the probing of recording companies and mainstream media.
Giannascoli is still flying under the radar of breaking out, but with time, “Beach Music” may still garner attention outside of his cult following of fans.
The treasure of “Beach Music” is the track “Salt.” Here, Giannascoli uses the production value of Domino Records to truly bring one of his most sincere songs to life. A jarring melody that flexes his ability to use voice manipulators and employing synths with a conventional band. His vocals stand out beautifully in “Salt” reminiscing the remorseful lyrics.
“Into my big cloud I’m flying all the time/I’m happy into your bedroom/I’m watching your backside/I’m trying out through my window I’m deeper all the time.”
“Beach Music” manages to smoothly transition tracks that widely differ from each other.
According to his Bandcamp page, Giannascoli took in a wide scope of different styles when writing, “with influences ranging from noise music to piano-based laments to Southern rock to the rhythmic focus of techno,” stated on the “Beach Music” page.
This is best shown in transition from the track “Bug” to “Brite Boy.”
The track “Bug” captures a lot of Giannascoli’s style as an artist, a mix of acoustics and electrics along with his trademark vocal distortions. For example, the ending of “Bug” takes a turn and changes to Alvin and the Chipmunks vocals, chanting out the chorus, “bug in the crosshair.”
“Brite Boy” is an excellent contrast from “Bug” shifting from a more technical performance to a traditional acoustic track. The song stands out of one of the simpler tracks of the album but is still pleasing to the ear and compliments the album.
Additional noteworthy tracks off the album are “Kicker.”
“Kicker” proves that Giannascoli can make the transition from solo work to performing with a full band. The song makes full use of instruments to create a piece that is solidly put together. The most important factor to take from the full band is Giannascoli’s live performances. “Kicker” perfectly demonstrates his ability to rise from a solo artist to cooperating with other musicians, succeeding in front of larger audiences.
The live performance of “Kicker” at UCONN a month ago creates a glimpse of the future of Giannascoli. He is growing into a musician that can implement the resources now available to him, the full band brought his tracks to life. While mainstream notice may be a while off, Giannascoli is still growing and learning how to perfect his craft, while maintaining that constant presence and connection with his audience.
Photo Credit: Thomas ♫
