By Clara Eikeboom

Alex Giannascoli’s album God Save The Animals is successful in evoking emotion and engaging the listener through creative instrumentation and production. Alex G started his career in the 2010s by producing his own music on Bandcamp, before his albums and Frank Ocean collaborations gained popularity. After his song “Treehouse” went viral on TikTok in 2020, he wrote the original score and sang the soundtrack for We’re All Going to the World’s Fair in 2022 and released his newest album God Save The Animals on September 23, 2022. The album God Save The Animals features 13 tracks with a range of musical techniques, from mellow acoustic guitar and eerie strings to haunting synths and crispy drums. 

As someone who enjoys spoken word and poetic music, “Blessing” is my favorite song on the album because of its juxtaposition between dramatic, distorted music and breathy whispering. The song begins with an abrupt synth, then rhythmic and bold electric guitar music interrupt. Alex G whispers the songs which makes the listener feel like the lyrics could be their own thoughts. Lyrically, this song explores the themes of challenges and simultaneously acceptance of life’s circumstances. He whispers that “every day is a blessing,” despite life being a “walk through mud.” According to National Public Radio (NPR), “he’s got a knack for making good fortune sound dangerous.” He adds that he will “rise from the flood” if he lives “like the fishes.” These lyrics are complex and almost confusing, but my interpretation is that the flood is a metaphor for the chaos of life. I have admittedly pondered the idea of what living like “fish” means to me, but it could be a social commentary or even have a religious meaning. Alex G repeats these two phrases throughout the entire song, making the listener really internalize them. 

The album’s indie rock combination with somber, spacey lo-fi style keeps me engaged for the entire 44 minutes and five seconds. The most popular song, “Runner,” has over 3.3 million streams, and the entire album has rightfully gained national attention for being a creative collage of audibly satisfying music and thought-evoking lyrics. I would recommend listening to this album if you enjoy lyrical music or want some interesting, new beats!