Alex G’s ‘Headlights’ is a sombre, reflective album, the singer-songwriter exploring themes of loneliness and escapism while delivering a collection of songs almost perfectly suited for your next late-night drive to nowhere in particular. It’s almost there, with real ambience butting heads with lyrics that are too open-ended to dig much deeper than surface level.
Still, there’s no doubting the ambition behind the record. As a singer-songwriter, it’s all too easy to tie yourself to your guitar and, in doing so, skip exploring a fuller range of possibilities. Here, the cult indie-rocker swims against the current and opts for some intriguing stylistic choices.
The accordion of album opener June Guitar sits where a throwaway lead might, while the mandolin during Afterlife skilfully pulls it back from being a rote guitar ballad. Alex G has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at this, creating real variety.
The production is excellent. Is It Still You In There? is a major highlight, its piano chords stumbling over each other alongside a rattling snare drum that carries a gloomy emptiness. But in a catch-22, his studious avoidance of singer-songwriter tropes shines an unforgiving light on the content of the songs.
Whip out your Americana checklist and you’d make light work of ‘Headlights’, rattling through its mentions of highways, stars and loneliness. As texturally intriguing as the LP is, lyrically it’s predictable. Listeners will be able to weave their own experiences around its broad strokes, but some specificity would have elevated things. ‘Headlights’ is smart and stylish, but you know what that means when it comes to substance.
Alex G Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri November 14 2025 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
Sat November 15 2025 - MANCHESTER Manchester Academy
Mon November 17 2025 - GLASGOW Barrowland
Tue November 18 2025 - DUBLIN Vicar Street
Wed November 19 2025 - DUBLIN Vicar Street
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