Since 2017’s Rocket, when pushing his unique blend of folk/alt-country forward not just into brighter and more sophisticated production methods but also harder edged experimentation, Alex G struggled somewhat to make the latter really fit into his oeuvre. It took me a good couple of years to come back and really appreciate the weirder stuff on House of Sugar, and honestly even now I can forgive myself for skipping “Horse” and “Brick” from the otherwise brilliant Rocket, but on God Save The Animals the experimental side fits in suitably well alongside the more tender and straightforward numbers, creating a far more seamless and less abrasive join of the two styles. This reveals a new level to Alex’s confidence as a songwriter which has resulted in his most refined and accomplished album to date.
Alex has always had an uncanny knack for conveying a lot whilst saying relatively little, his earnest and unpretentious lyrics belying a sense of innocence and anxiety which resonate on a far deeper and more visceral level. Here, as the album title implies, he turns his kindly gaze on the notions of religious faith. At a glance, lyrics to songs like “Blessing” or “Miracles” could seem deliberately glib, but they carry the same sincere humility of anything else he’s ever written. Questioning faith is not an unusual practice, and the uncertainty of wanting to have a child that Alex conveys on “Miracles” runs concurrent with the deliberately uncomplicated emotional paths he’s taken on a lot of his work before it. Love, doubt, hope and fear.
Sonically, this album is simply gorgeous, particularly the piano which, whether it’s driving a song hard or merely fluttering in the background, carries the songs beautifully throughout. The autotune and other vocal manipulation sounds like less of a deliberate statement piece than before and more like part of the furniture, and whether he’s whispering, crooning or yelping like Prince, Alex’s voice has never sounded more sure of itself. The drums are high and bright in the mix for a good number of the songs, and yet despite their insistence they seldom stray far from a basic 4×4 beat, serving to accentuate the power of simplicity in Alex’s music. Amidst all of this we have washes of ambience, dark synth passages, folk rock strings and Alex’s well-honed and lush melodic guitar work, culminating in a supremely fruitful and full-bodied sound.
Above all else, what really showcased the strength of this album at an early glance is that despite the different styles weaving throughout each song which could potentially make the track order grating, this is by far Alex G’s most cohesive album since he broke out of the bedroom into a more polished and pristine aesthetic. Where swerves into stranger territory on Rocket and House of Sugar sometimes made for difficult listening, here they are natural and easy (save for the big distorted drums on “No Bitterness” which are at odds with anything else on the album and my only major bugbear about the whole thing). Some of his previous work has taken a while to sit with me and fully sink in, but I immediately fell for this album on my first listen through. This is 45 minutes of rich and open-hearted music which, based on how obsessive I got constantly watching the videos for the singles before the full release, will doubtless provide a wealth of rewarding repeat listens.
The Sweetest Parsnips 