House of Sugar

Showing no desire to even the scales or to polish the extremities of his vision, as we near the end of this decade (Sandy) Alex G has re-established himself and one of our most inventive and intriguing voices.

House of Sugar steps into volatile, subterranean moods not quite grounded in reality, flitting towards soupy daydreams and murky fantasy worlds. Giannascoli's creativity is endless and as he continues his never-ending output of mysteriously disorienting and strangely familiar songs, he's becoming stronger and weirder with every album.

As with earlier albums, it’s studded with experiments: “Project 2,” an interlude of fluting vaporwave synths, and “Sugar,” where melodramatic violin and piano are coated in Vocodered gurgles. They’re less interruptions than camouflage.

House of Sugar is not only special because it is the most consistent, detailed, adventurous Alex G record so far, but because it also clarifies what Giannascoli has been working towards all along and positions itself as an opus of one of this decade’s most defining indie artists.

Though House of Sugar can be a difficult record, those who take the time to delve into its layers will be treated to a piece that captures the modern psyche in a way few other pieces of art manage to do.

It masters the somber, folk-rock which fills so much of his discography, while aromas of country, Americana, and mild electronica swirl around, breathtakingly so. Whoever said indie-rock had to change in the year 2019 is sadly mistaken—it didn't have to change, only improve. In Giannascoli's hands, I'd say we're safe for the long haul.

Through turns wholly strange and ambiguous, it’s often unclear where the breadcrumb trail of 'House Of Sugar' is leading us, but it’s a mind-bending trip worth taking nonetheless.

Alex G continues to find the sensitivity in rough edges, and offers uneven poetry for our own relentlessly uneven lives. ... An overarching commitment to juxtaposition and bricolage that’s palpable throughout the tracklist. In their brevity and slapdash composition, they feel like essential components of the Alex G m.o. It’s that m.o. that holds House of Sugar together, even as it rejects a single unified concept or “story.”

Intimate, theatrical, and strange, House of Sugar is designed to reward repeat listens, but like other (Sandy) Alex G sets, it's above all affecting.

House of Sugar is just as bewildering as Rocket, even if Giannascoli is too much of a tunesmith to keep things too abstract. He's a cunning songwriter who will take on a challenge whenever an idea seems to complex to untangle, even if his tender side will always be there.

These songs might not be his most immediate, but House Of Sugar, it rewards repeated listening as these songs start to reveal their hidden depths with every listen. Whether its ever possibly to get right to the bottom of them is another matter, but really, it’s the mystery of them that makes them so appealing.

It is intentionally playful and mesmerising. It’s in these moments, when Giannascoli flaunts his ability to turn the bedroom pop moniker he once personified on its head with studio trickery and letting his most outré ideas play out, that the record then rewards you.

A record whose card-shuffling diversity proves to be its ace. [Oct 2019, p.113]

His songs are rarely constructed from a place of deeply considered meaning. Instead, they’re largely streams of his conscience: creations that invite listeners to cosy up in his world. On ‘House of Sugar’, it’s his most exciting invitation yet.