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Jul 22, 2025It’s clear that ‘Headlights’ is Alex G’s most streamlined body of work yet – the culmination of fifteen years of exploration, refined.
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Jul 18, 2025The album peaks with the seemingly totally analogue Real Thing: a simply and addictively beautiful tune built around a pan flute and a witty riff on the titular romantic cliche. Giannascoli may have found a middle ground, but he’s nowhere near the middle of the road.
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Jul 16, 2025The gorgeous but strange Headlights, though, resists that flattening at every turn.
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Jul 16, 2025Alex G is playing with new toys that make records sound both more organic and expensive—banjo, accordion, mandolin, actual string sections. This puts Headlights right where it should be, in conversation with major-label debuts from the likes of R.E.M., Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie, and Modest Mouse.
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Jul 22, 2025Headlights solidifies Alex G’s gift for tapping into the familiarity across our individual experiences. His melodies are oftentimes warm and inviting while also imbued with quirky flourishes that evoke a potent nostalgia. His lyrics bring to life scenes that are specific, relatable, and very often painful.
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Jul 18, 2025A rich reward for the Alex Giannascoli faithful: his 10th album is no less bizarre than what’s come before, nor the melodies less beautiful.
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Jul 16, 2025The strange, shimmering spirit of his songwriting and production style still pushes its way to the surface, delivering yet another record for fans to leave on repeat.
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Jul 16, 2025Giannascoli continues to ring genuine emotion from strange affectations and modulation to change his singing voice. It makes when he sings pretty (Oranges) hit even harder.
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Jul 16, 2025Whether 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.
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Jul 18, 2025These songs sound like they were created with love for every version of Alex G: past, present, and future.
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Nov 7, 2025Alex G lets his guard down a bit more than usual on Headlights, but even with a more personal emphasis, this is an album from a songwriter guided by curiosity and intrigue — wherever he goes, it’s a pleasure to follow.
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Aug 6, 2025Headlights is his most unassuming, back-to-basics (Neil Young, Elliott Smith) record in years.
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Jul 29, 2025As soon as listeners begin to figure how it all makes sense, something emerges to cause one to question why it matters anyway. Much to his credit, his best work has always highlighted that dichotomy.
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Jul 17, 2025Alex G is one of the most distinctive characters working in indie rock today, and despite some of its shortcomings, the songs on Headlights still prove that. But rather than being a victory lap, Alex G's first major label record feels self-destructive. Maybe he's not quite ready for the burden of prosperity.
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Jul 17, 2025The songs are proficiently penned, though often devoid of the juggernaut hooks that elevated previous outings, particularly the exhilarating House of Sugar and stunning God Save the Animals. Additionally, the production MO tilts toward the conservative – well-sanded and well-stirred instrumentation.
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