This 10th album by the Pennsylvania indie musician, producer, and singer-songwriter Alexander Giannascoli brings a mellower sound than some of his previous LPs, with often gentle, skilfully rendered guitars, dream-like, wistful and fantastical lyrics, and beautifully drawing on Americana as well as key influences Elliott Smith and Neil Young. Vocally, Smith is still the artist he most resembles throughout this release, with opener June Guitar among the lovely standouts, broadening out in an rich accordion solo. Beam Me Up, as well as some sparse twanginess, and lyrics about rabbits in the titular headlights, includes some hauntining old-school sci-fi sound effects. Bounce Boy brings a bigger sound – more shoegaze-rock-punk fusion. Real Thing is a gorgeous, subtly syncopated acoustic number, a wistful love song and Oranges is even sparser, but no less lovely. Louisiana begins with a harsher sound but melts into gentle soft rock. But the highlight is still surely the single Afterlife, a delicious sound of intricate mandolin, as if falling like raindrops, and a song about child escapism with a charming video. Overall a beautiful and gentle release, one that feels wistfully comfortable in its own timeframe and sound. Out on RCA Records.
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