Alex G - Trick

Alex G is actually my biggest inspiration. I discovered him in 2016 when his Vice video was in my YouTube recommended. This was around the time I started writing my own music, and he was the first person I knew of that played multiple instruments and made the music himself. Another person that really inspired me in that sense is Jacob Ewald of Modern Baseball, and his work with Slaughter Beach, Dog. I'm gonna write about some of his music in the future. Alex G has a lot of music, I've listened to Trick, DSU, Beach Music, Rocket, and House of Sugar. I also listened to his new song which is so awesome, I can't wait for new music. Today I'm gonna write about Trick, which I was listening to like everyday when I did Mighty is My Dawg.

Animals

Animals starts out with a hypnotizing lead riff backed by dizzy drums and a hazy guitar. As the intro transitions into the verse at 0:26, you can hear feedback in the background. The verse has an amazing vocal and guitar harmony, with a sloppy drum rhythm that carries the song perfectly. The lyrics are so raw and honest. There's an awesome drum fill at 0:54 with the rim of the snare. The chorus has a repeating melody of what sounds like three guitar playing different parts in harmony, panned in the middle and sides. It compliments the vocals well, which have great lyrics. Not much changes for the second verse, but during the second chorus the chords are bent very strongly. The drums also cut out at 1:56, for an awesome landing at 2:00. The song changes at 2:21 for the ending, with 16th notes on the hi hat.

Kute

Kute has a unique sense of rhythm to it. It starts off with a pickup bar, which pulls you right in. The song is easy to listen to, but I have a hard time counting along to it. That's not a takeaway, it keeps the song interesting The drums are easy to follow along to, it's the transitions that throw me off. The song is carried by an addicting guitar riff, there's also an awesome phaser layered with it. I think the lyrics to this song are so interesting, it seems like it's about an animal.

Mary

Mary is one of my favorite Alex G songs in terms of guitar. It starts out with a beautiful rhythm and lead guitar harmony. I love the notes that lead into the next bar at 0:24, and the distorted guitar that plays on the landing. The verse has an awesome guitar riff, I love the tone. The drums bounce with the kick hits and open hi hat, along with the rim clicks. 0:52 has a catchy guitar solo which leads into the chorus. The chorus is a line that leads into another guitar solo, which serves the song perfectly. While this is going the bass compliments the bounce of the drums, and the rhythm guitar pushes the track. At 1:47 the distorted guitar builds into the part at 1:56 where the track feels like it starts to fall apart. All is well by 2:05, where everything resumes as normal. There's another couple lines and then another solo at 2:27. During this part you can hear vocals panned left and right. It seems like there are 3 guitar tracks in the middle and sides, and at 2:36 either the right changes or another take comes in and the middle disappears. I love the ending notes of the solo at 2:43, and then the bending of the chord after.

Those are some of my favorite songs off of Trick by Alex G. I recommend the full album, and you should definitely check out the others I listed. I gotta take the time to listen to his other work, such as Rules and Race.

Thank you for reading!