With the backing of the indie stalwart, Alex G released his grayscale 2015 record Beach Music and, shortly thereafter, collaborated with Frank Ocean on his acclaimed sophomore album Blonde. Pitchfork initially compared him to Elliott Smith and Big Star, while The Fader touted him as “the Internet’s Secret Best Songwriter.” After Orchid Tapes also reissued the 2012 albums Rules and Trick, he had the cultural cachet it took to sign with legendary imprint Domino. When Giannascoli finally put out his first official album, DSU, through Orchid Tapes in 2014, he was already one of the buzziest musicians active in the DIY sphere. Due to this growing momentum, he decided to drop out of college and pursue music full-time. His bookish, but defiant disposition helped him maintain an air of lackadaisical cool, and he started to amass a following thanks to underground blogs and the adoration of more established musicians. From there, he continued to churn out murky albums, EPs and splits, when he wasn’t busy touring the East Coast. He released his unofficial debut, Race, as an unmastered upload to Bandcamp in 2011. At this point, he was scattering a breadcrumb trail of slowcore lullabies and cryptic sonic oddities across the web. This perfunctory attitude would go on to define his alluringly haphazard early solo work.Īfter enrolling at Temple University, Giannascoli started dropping music under the moniker Alex G. In high school, Giannascoli played gritty all-ages punk shows in bands like the modernist goth act MOTHER and the scrappy pop band The Skin Cells.

This youthful spirit endures in his work, even as an adult-his vague lyrics frequently read a bit like the ramblings of an elementary schooler zonked on Nyquil. Born and raised in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, suburbs, he started learning guitar and recording tracks after his parents bought him a laptop at age 11. There is a dreary sense of psychedelia that seeps from Alexander Giannascoli’s music, which is at once mesmerizing and deeply singular.

Ranking frank ocean albums