Close your eyes and imagine yourself in your car. You’re taking a road trip with no destination in mind. You turn off your A/C, roll down your windows, and inhale the air from outside. The road you take is windy, and you begin to take notice of the little details of a car ride, including the types of cars around you and the birds flying above you.

Music is playing through the radio, but your thoughts are louder than what you’re listening to. You have no idea where you’re going to end up, but you know this road feels familiar, like taking the route to your childhood home. You have this feeling that wherever you end up, you will be welcomed with open arms.

This is Headlights by Alex G, his tenth album and first album released by a major record label, RCM.

“June Guitar” was the second crumb that fans were able to have before the full album came out. It is also the first song on the setlist, which I think is the perfect introduction for setting the tone for the rest of the album. With soft instrumentals and a backup chorus, along with a subtle crescendo midway through the song, it leaves hints of a nostalgic Alex G song. This nostalgia is combined with a new and mature sound that I grew to love and find myself coming back to over and over.

This feeling comes back to me when listening to “Oranges,” a rootsy song with instrumentals and vocals that remind me of the cornfields I pass by when I visit my childhood home. Lyrics like “Wash in the river on bended knee, Mama come out and rescue me,” feel like a lullaby that beautifully pairs with his guitar.

This song transitions to “Far and Wide,” which is a song that makes you question if it’s even Alex G singing at all. His voice switches to a nasally one, almost as if he was paying homage to singer Daniel Johnston. There are cutesy moments in this song where a verse would start:

“Butterflies and boats… Little things that made me think, of what we had together.”

Then the next would go:

“Well I’m all in pieces, All of the world was left in faded color, Didn’t we give everything to be with one another?”

It’s moments like these that make you admire the sweet, melodic surface of this song until you notice the undertones in his lyricism. In this song he talks about the highs and lows of a relationship including the sweet moments but also the sad ending of one.

As much as I love the mellow songs in this album, I can’t get over the danceable ones!

“Bounce Boy” is loud, messy, eclectic, and I love every second of it, a perfect addition to his “Boy” song collection (yippie!). It also serves as a perfect example of what I love about Alex G’s music, you never know what to expect.

One thing about me, I’m a big fan of an album that explores new instrumentals, writing, and overall sound. Alex G hops and skips around, giving listeners a taste of everything that goes through his mind in the writing process, especially in this new hyper pop song. I can’t wait to see him perform this live in September.

Upon initially listening to the album all the way through for the first time, my first thought was, “Wow, he sounds really mature in this album.” Second, third time around, I still had that thought in mind.

A part of me really wished I could’ve found his music sooner in high school because I already knew that my angsty, annoying self would’ve eaten up Trick and all of his released music. But now, as a tax-paying, full-time working, Costco-membership-owning individual, I found myself in a place where I can also grow and appreciate the new and matured sound in this album.

Rating: A

A