Alex G, 'Headlights' Review

Album Cover by Rachel Giannascoli, Alex G's sister

Genre: Alt/Indie Released: 7/18/2025 Reviewed by: Jade M. Read Rating: Froglet (3.6)

3.6

In 2024, Alex G signed his first major record deal with RCA Records, stepping away from his indie roots and into a bigger world. Headlights feels like the moment he put down his guitar in his bedroom and stepped onto a grand stage.

The album opens with “June Guitar,” a track that shows how much his music has changed. His vocals are clearer, and the sound is more polished than before. In the song, Alex G shares his thoughts about love and the ups and downs of life, with a cool guitar riff that fits perfectly with his message. Throughout, you can hear him struggling with his own feelings, while a woman’s voice answers him like they’re having a conversation inside his head.

Alex G then brings us back to the “real thing” as he returns to his raw vocals with the second song on the album, “Real Thing.” This track feels like a classic Alex G song, focusing on a consistent strum pattern while delivering a full narrative.

Quickly after, Alex G throws us a beat-driven tune with “Afterlife.” Afterlife is the kind of song you can put on while starting the ignition on a beachside road trip by yourself. Overall, it’s a phenomenal tune with creative aspects that make it a very memorable staple of this album.

Now four songs in, with “Beam Me Up,” we are taken down a darker path. A piano plays a haunting tune in the distance as Alex G confesses his bad habits and reflects on his life, listing things he can’t break no matter how hard he tries. We then hear a woman’s voice giving faint affirmations, possibly serving as a safety net for Alex G’s flaws in life.

Then comes a passionate piece called “Spinning.” It sounds angry and regretful, pleading for a way to fix something that possibly went wrong, as his mind is literally “spinning.”

The sound continues to dim as “Louisiana” takes the stage. The opening sounds like a chainsaw running while a faint shoegazy voice reminisces about a lost love, with no connection to the state of the same name. Louisiana points toward a girl who may have been lost along the way and never found, though the narrator still pleads for her hand in marriage.

We are then pulled back up to a happier melody with “Bounce Boy.” Bounce Boy sounds straight out of a video game. The glitchy and retro sound effects make it a perfect follow-up to the dark aura that plagued the center of the album.

Soon comes my personal favorite, an acoustic masterpiece called “Oranges.” Oranges starts off with a carefree riff that turns into a classic narrative sung by Alex G. The song looks back at a childhood love while staying on track with a nursery rhyme-inspired melody.

“Far and Wide” is the clearest introduction to the musicalesque sound that lingers throughout the album. The chorus sounds absolutely magical as it plays over a quiet orchestra.

Now we meet the title track, Headlights. Surprisingly, I would say this is one of the weaker songs on the album. Headlights sounds like what you’d expect if a fan tried to make an Alex G song over a YouTube track called “Alex G type beat.” Overall, it sounds like a filler, nothing special and definitely not worthy of holding the space as the title track.

“Is it Still You in There?” opens with a jazzy lounge feeling, then turns into a haunting choir that follows the musical foundation it was built on. The song is one of the best on the album, but it’s nothing more than that. It doesn’t hold itself as something on its own and feels more like a narrative piece. Great for the story, but weak by itself.

Coming to the end, we get the live and only official version of “Logan Hotel.” It’s a cheerful way to finish the album and personally one of my favorites. The guitar is phenomenal. Alex G sounds regretful of the words he uttered throughout the rest of the album and is now pleading for an apology or at least to act like everything is alright. Overall, an amazing song that closes out a great album.

Sonder Froggy Rating