Indie Folking With Alex G, Big Thief, Mac DeMarco, Natalia Lafourcade & Wednesday: Rapid Fire Review

Headlights - Alex G

For over a decade now, Alex G has been a consistent presence in indie music, popping up every few years with a new acclaimed project that critics tend to enjoy a little more than I do. I thought that might not be the case with Headlights, because I enjoyed a few singles going into it. While "Oranges" pops up on the record's far more boring second half, and fits in, the first two singles really worked. "June Guitar" is a gentle, dreamy cut that still sounds just as infectious as it did when I first heard it. The lead single, "Afterlife," is even better and still stands among my favorite Alex G cuts to date. But honestly, I can't really think of a single deep cut that inspires the same level of interest. "Real Thing" is probably the closest the record comes. Even though the song itself isn't quite as sticky, the lyricism is a big highlight, and the way he deploys the metaphor of the "Real Thing" is worth diving into. 

When the record takes a swing at different sounds, however, the results aren't great. "Louisiana" has absolutely awful-sounding vocal effects that make it pretty much a non-starter for me. "Bounce Boy" has a glitchier demeanor and these blasting synths that certainly stand out. But it never really adds up to a song that's all that interesting. But my bigger complaint with the record is how boring it gets outside of both the highlights and lowlights. "Beam Me Up" features a compositional simplicity that really feels beneath Alex G, while a song like "Is It Still You In There?" does develop a bit of momentum, it wastes it all on the hook. 

I don't have any particularly insightful observations coming off of this record. Much in the way that I've always enjoyed Alex G slightly less than your average critic, I fail to see what's truly special about his sound on this record. Beyond a few enjoyable singles, it mostly reminds me of the exact same arguments I've made in the past for skirting under the consensus opinions of even his very best works. 4/10

Double Infinity - Big Thief

Speaking of bands that I never loved as much as the critical consensus, let's do another public humiliation ritual for my takes on Big Thief. Their last record, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe You, racked up massive critical acclaim. Though there were some great songs across its obnoxious 80-minute runtime, it still had an obnoxious and thoroughly inconsistent 80-minute runtime. Now, down a member for their first time since breaking through as a routine critical darling, I think the band is even less capable of conjuring consistency then before.

Don't get me wrong, as usual, there are some amazing tracks in the mix. Lead single "Incomprehensible" did a lot to raise my expectations of the project right out of the gate. It plays the band's rootsy, grounded demeanor absolutely perfectly. In fact, I kind of enjoyed all of the singles as a collection. "Los Angeles" features touchy, reverbed guitars and Adrianne Lenker's voice kind of flutters loosely from one refrain to another in an entrancing way. "All Night All Day" is the closest thing to a weak link in the bunch, mostly because it sounds like what would happen if you made a computer program combine every Big Thief song yet into a single track. Finally, there's the excellent "Grandmother." It features some perfectly timed additions from Laraaji that really drive home its lively but cautious demeanor and gentle sentimentality. 

But much like the Alex G record before it, Double Infinity swings and misses with a lot of its deep cuts. Most of those are worthwhile experiments that just miss the mark. "Words" features a much muddier style of production that is interesting, even if it sounds horrible within Big Thief's world. "No Fear" has an eerier and more reserved demeanor that is interesting at first, but gets absolutely exhausting across the full 7 minutes of the song. The closest is "Happy with You," whose lively and playful instrumentation is great, but I unfortunately can't stand the vocals. While the general consensus among fans has been that something is missing from Double Infinity, it reminds me a lot of the issues I've had with several Big Thief records. Outside of the moments where their songwriting is at its absolute sharpest, the band doesn't serve up the kind of sonic intrigue that's marked their best work across previous records. 5/10

Guitar - Mac DeMarco

I'm definitely not going to overplay my hand here. You could slip by a review of Guitar in just a few sentences. Over the past 7 years or so, Mac DeMarco has been slowing his music down to a crawl and stripping it further and further down to just the bare essentials. While I haven't been a big fan of either of his last two studio albums, that may be turning around. Guitar is a simple title because the record is an experiment in simplicity. Mac wrote a straight-up series of acoustic guitar-driven tracks that stick to simple sounds, simple formulas, and even simple ideas. But to my surprise, it's Mac's best collection of songs in a while. 

I won't over-complicate things by trying to explain why this stripped-down format can present such interesting results; I'll just point out the best examples. "Shining" starts the record off well with the raw creaks of Mac's vocals making for a great highlight. "Home" was a short and impossibly sweet single that never tries to do too much and always feels so blissful while it's on. I felt similarly about the single "Holy," which managed to stick in my memory better than I initially anticipated. "Punishment" is one of the lone moments of sonic variety on the record, and it pops up at the perfect time. Even without Mac stepping out of his comfort zone lyrically, "Nothing At All" still manages to be a thematic highlight with several of my favorite lyrics on the album. 

The record isn't perfect in its simple format, though. "Sweeter" gets off to a good start but trails off at the end. "Terror" is one of the only tracks where I actively dislike both the singing and the songwriting. And "Rock And Roll" is a song that feels like it needed another vocal take and less guitar noodling at the end. And yet, I'm always surprised by how pleasant I found the experience of listening to the record every time it concluded. By not trying to do much, Mac also avoids doing TOO much, while delivering more satisfying compositions than were found on either of his previous two records. 6/10

Cancionera - Natalia Lafourcade

I know full well that I'm stretching the definition of this collection of records to include Natalia Lafourcade, but I couldn't miss a chance to talk about this album. Like many critics, I fell in love with her series of compilation projects across the late 2010s and early 2020s, and it all paid off with her delightful 2022 Spanish folk delight De Todas Las Flores. That's why going into a new studio album, my expectations were high. Save for a bit of a lull in the midpoint, the record largely lives up to those hopes. 

I'll fast forward right to that point, because I think it'll be the most controversial. The first song I don't particularly care for is "Amor Clandestino." It's one of several love song duets on the album, and I don't find the instrumental or vocal chemistry nearly as compelling as the others. Even then, though, I think the lyrics tributing a clandestine sense of love that's felt by the participants, even if it doesn't need to be spelled out to observers, are great. The two songs I really don't find much interest in returning to are "Mascaritas de Cristal" and "El Coconito," neither of which provides anything thematically or sonically as strong as the record's highlights. 

But speaking of those highlights, they're very much worth exploring. I love the way the album begins with "Apertura Cancionera." It's a dramatic and endearing way to start the album off that's both eerie but also familiar for Natalia's fans simultaneously. That gives way to the masterful title track and lead single, "Cancionera." The song is a thesis statement of sorts for the record itself. Lyrically, it's a loving tribute to the very art of songwriting, which shines through lovely refrains and gentle instrumental flourishes with a clearly displayed mastery of the craft. 

The record contains several duets, the best of the bunch being "Como Quisiera Quererte." It's a gentle love song that finds way to deploy the kind of grand symbolism to make the stakes feel like they're bordering on life and death. It contrasts well with the soft nature of the track sonically. Speaking of, the song "Luna Creciente" is another sonic highlight. The song is fittingly nocturnal-sounding to match its lunar theme while working in new sonic aesthetics to its presentation that add a new dynamic to how it plays out. 

Though the record is often intimate and beautiful, it also knows how to have fun. "Cocos en la Playa" wanders into some of Natalia's most playful instincts with charming group vocals and playful percussion that work together to serve up the more irresistibly adorable vibes imaginable. "El Palomo y La Negra" contains the most classic folk storytelling on the album, with a lively instrumental and Natalia sounding like she's truly having fun narrating the story that unfolds. And that's the story of this album. Outside of a lull in the middle, Natalia has never felt more alive than when she is professing a love for the very idea of songwriting itself. From its most intimate loving depths to its most joyful theatrical highs, the record breathes with that love through and through. 7.5/10

Bleeds - Wednesday

Since the theme of this list, more than anything else, has become great lead singles, let's talk about one more album with a great lead single. Asheville band Wednesday broke through in 2023 with a critical darling record, Rat Saw God. And even though I wasn't a fan of it at all, MJ Lenderman's 2024 album also got its fair share of praise. With all of that plus the staggeringly good lead single for Bleeds, "Elderberry Wine," being one of the best Wednesday songs ever, my expectations were high. That was confounded even more by the next single, "Wound Up Here." It came through with an anguished, weepy chorus and driven guitars that just rush in out of nowhere. Even "Pick Up The Knife" is a track that reminded me quite a bit of the band's last record, which is undoubtedly a compliment. 

Unlike some of the records earlier in this segment, there are plenty of worthwhile deep cuts here. "Reality TV Argument Bleeds" is a visceral, explosive way to start the record off with sour, whining guitars and an excellent, versatile vocal performance. "Townies" also feels like a quintessentially Wednesday song about revisiting the place where you grew up and the complicated relationships you have with the people there. "Bitter Everyday" may be the very best of all the deep cuts, not only because it sounds great on the heels of the fiery "Wasp," but also because it builds off that track to shred even harder. 

Songs like the hokey "Phish Pepsi" and the relatively unsatisfying "Candy Breath" prevent me from liking this record quite as much as Rat Saw God. But Bleeds has similar highlights, combining the band's well-earned rootsy credentials with a thunderous rock energy that they save for just the right moments. Within those folds are the bones of a fantastic record, even if it doesn't dust up the edges quite as well as its predecessor. 7/10