Alex G
A singer/songwriter, guitarist, and producer, Alex Giannascoli -- better known as Alex G --makes lo-fi pop that combines strong melodic sensibilities and intimate vocals with an impulsive-sounding performance style. He is also known for diversions into recording experiments and noise. After releasing a dozen combined albums and EPs on his own or on smaller labels, his Domino Records debut, 2015's Beach Music, landed on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and led to guitar spots for Frank Ocean. He retained his idiosyncratic, turbulent style even as he began working with collaborators, expanding his sound, and working in studios, as on 2019's House of Sugar. His fourth album for Domino, 2022's disjointed God Save the Animals found him working with a half-dozen engineers, each at a different studio, and all were given the instruction to produce their highest-quality recorded material, arguably resulting in G's most challenging album yet. He composed the score to the 2024 psychological drama I Saw the TV Glow.
As a teenager, Alexander Giannascoli, a Pennsylvania native, wrote and recorded music in his bedroom, producing a sound that channeled the likes of Elliott Smith and Built to Spill. His first album, 2010's Race, appeared on the cassette label Gold Soundz. He followed it a year later with the self-issued Winner. While enrolled at Temple University in 2012, he came to the attention of musician Mat Cothran of Elvis Depressedly, who subsequently shared the homemade demos and approached Giannascoli to play his first live show. That year, he released two more long-players, Rules (Birdtapes) and Trick (Haze Tapes). In 2013, by then going by simply Alex G, he signed with the indie label Orchid Tapes, the home of a community of songwriters, including Cothran and Sam Ray (Teen Suicide). Orchid released the home-recorded DSU in 2014 to some acclaim, and Giannascoli dropped out of school to pursue music.
The U.K. label Lucky Number mastered and released a couple of Alex G's earlier D.I.Y. albums, Trick and Rules, in early 2015, and he signed with Domino Records for his DSU follow-up, Beach Music, issued in October of that year. Peaking at number nine on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, that record expanded his audience and furthered his reputation, and in 2016 his guitar work appeared on the Frank Ocean albums Endless and Blond. The following April, with no formal explanation given, he officially adopted the moniker (Sandy) Alex G for his second Domino release, May 2017's Rocket. Still home-recorded, it was a more collaborative effort, featuring members of his touring band, violinist Molly Germer, and prior guest vocalist Emily Yacina. It reached number 23 on Billboard's independent albums chart. Later that year, he appeared on-stage with Ocean and opened shows for Fleet Foxes, amid headlining tour dates. The concert album Live at Third Man Records followed in mid-2018.
Alex G's first album to emerge from outside of home, House of Sugar was recorded with Beach Music and Rocket mixer Jacob Portrait at his studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Again using the name (Sandy) Alex G, it arrived on Domino in September 2019 and went on hit the Top 30 of the Billboard alternative and independent albums charts as well as the Top Five of the Heatseekers chart. In January 2021, a horror film he scored, We're All Going to the World's Fair, had its Sundance Film Festival premiere. Meanwhile, he dropped the "(Sandy)" designation and used the demos for his ninth studio album to a half-dozen engineers (including Portrait) at studios across the Northeast. The complex results of requesting the "best" recording quality from each studio were evident on the off-kilter and dynamic God Save the Animals in September 2022. It also featured contributions from Germer, singer Jessica Lea Mayfield, and guitarist/banjo player Samuel Acchione, among others. A limited-edition, vinyl-only LP, Live from Union Transfer, followed on Domino in June 2023, capturing a November 2022 show in Philadelphia with his band. He went on to tour internationally, including dates in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, with Alvvays before the end of the year. Alex G's score for Jane Schoenbrun's film I Saw the TV Glow was released by A24 Music in 2024.
© Marcy Donelson & Scott Kerr /TiVo
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Discography
202 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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I Saw The TV Glow (Original Motion Picture Score)
Alternative & Indie - Released by A24 Music on 16 May 2024
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
House of Sugar
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 13 Sep 2019
Pitchfork: Best New MusicAvailable in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
God Save The Animals
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 23 Sep 2022
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Beach Music
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 9 Oct 2015
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Rocket
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 19 May 2017
Pitchfork: Best New MusicAvailable in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Race
Alternative & Indie - Released by Many Hats Distribution on 1 Jan 2010
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Sportstar (Porches Remix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 14 Jun 2017
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Blessing
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 23 May 2022
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
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Treehouse
Electronic - Released by Alex G & Emily Yacina on 17 Jan 2011
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Trick
Alternative & Indie - Released by Lucky Number on 6 Nov 2012
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Rules
Alternative & Indie - Released by Lucky Number on 16 Jan 2012
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Runner
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 21 Jun 2022
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Gretel
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 4 Jun 2019
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
DSU
Alternative & Indie - Released by Lucky Number on 17 Jun 2014
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
We're All Going to the World's Fair (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Milan on 25 Apr 2022
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Covers Collection 2013
Pop - Released by God Bless My Therapist - The Fuel Music on 23 Oct 2017
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Covers Collection 2015
Pop - Released by God Bless My Therapist - The Fuel Music on 23 Oct 2017
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Imagine
Pop - Released by God Bless My Therapist - The Fuel Music on 6 Nov 2017
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Miracles
Alternative & Indie - Released by Domino Recording Co on 8 Sep 2022
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo