Review: Alex G at Rosemount Hotel

Alex G at Rosemount Hotel
w/ Smol Fish
Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Alex G is one of indie’s cult heroes, and a devoted army of Perth fans were treated to a wide-ranging set of his tunes at the Rosemount on Tuesday night. Alex Giannascoli (“G”) rose from obscurity through a stream of lo-fi bedroom recordings posted online in the late 2000s, gradually tracing an extensive discography that spans indie pop, folk, emo, country/Americana, electronica, noise, and all points in between. He’s emerged in the 2020s as one of this generation’s most talented singer/songwriters, and his 2022 offering, For the Animals, was one of the year’s best albums. His show on Rosemount was a treat, cross-cutting new and old in a performance that put the fans first.

Opening proceedings were local act Smol Fish, who have become one of Perth’s most beloved indie pop bands over the last few years. The band’s sound is a warm, homespun take on pop, underpinned by some classically beautiful songwriting. Conditionally, from this year’s Crocodile Tears EP was a beautiful building ballad with one foot in 70s folk rock balladry and one in 90s slacker rock. Closer and early single Cry All the Time was a strong finish, the catchiness of its chorus pre-empted by the band (“this part is really catchy”). No hype was needed, as the song spoke for itself. It was a beautifully constructed track, with winding verses making way for a cathartic payoff. The aforementioned refrain, with gruff shouts paired against smooth harmonised vocals, was built for the stage. A special call out also for the bit of stage banter about using a rice cooker for the first time—this is the kind of content that we not only need but deserve.

Alex G came on to relatively little fanfare, his appearance and manner as modest as one would expect. Dressed in a plain T-shirt and jeans with a stripped-down backing band, Alex was every part the every man. His stage banter was relatively minimal throughout; he was easygoing and modest, with a focus on the music. It’s what fans would come to expect from the man, who remains mysterious yet lovable with no real effort.

His songs often play like vignettes told through various characters. Alex G has described these as caricatures in the past, rendering it satisfyingly unclear what arises from personal experience and what from his boyishly overripe imagination and penchant for character studies. That being said, his latest album features doubtless personal thoughts on faith and forgiveness, and, as his most melodic and fleshed-out record yet, it was good to see it get some strong representation.

Opening double-hit Headroom Piano and S.D.O.S. started the set on a clean note, two largely instrumental tracks carried by their beautiful arpeggiated riffs, with the latter’s spooky progression coming on strong live. This gave way to recent classic Runner, whose earworm hook was even stronger live. No Bitterness was an emo kiss-off whose strong drums and yearning vocals made it stage-ready. Later in the piece, the folky Mission went off splendidly, its warm key-led sound bottled live. A repetitive drive underpinned the beautiful Ain’t It Easy.

Alex G’s recent material blends both melodicity and lo-fi experimentation in their studio versions, with snatches of noise and found sounds. Live, they eschewed the lo-fi elements in favour of a more straightforward, guitar-driven approach. For an artist whose music can sound ragged and effortlessly tossed off at times, the tightness of the performance was a surprise. It only served to give these tracks their due, highlighting their simple melodic beauty as carried by Alex’s consistently strong vocals and shimmering guitars.

New material aside, Alex G has an expansive back catalogue spanning ten albums and a somewhat legendary selection of online recordings, a lot of them unreleased. He’s an artist rabidly followed by his audience; even his deeper tracks are memorised and dissected, and their place amongst the puzzle of Alex G lore always under consideration. It was no surprise then that the setlist blew out, with Alex G performing tracks big and small from his back catalogue and letting it hang out a bit more.

Mary got a big reaction; its volume raised, but its heart-on-its-sleeve minimalism still laid bare. The preceding track, Sarah, was a more traditional acoustic singalong that had the crowd in the palm of its hand. Scratched samples opened to the anthemic and grungey Gretel, which was a wise inclusion for its intentional change of pace and rockier downtempo guitar riff. The set closed on newer ground with the one-two punch of Miracles and Forgive. The latter is one of Alex G’s most beautiful songs ever, and it shone live, guitars crisp and clear, as Alex delivered the heart-rending coda with a voice-cracking earnestness that matched the record.

The encore is a relatively tired trope, but perhaps we should have known better with Alex G. His audience thrives on the deep cut, and to their delight, the band ran through an additional six songs. Highlights included the very 90s Snot that piled guitar jangles atop itself. Bobby, with its lullaby-esque melody, embraced the crowd like a hug. Mis was a huge ballad, and the night’s lighters-up moment had the audience been so inclined. A punter consistently shouted ‘more’ as a cute aside about the Swan River being north or south gave way to the appropriately country-tinged Southern Sky. The final duo of Harvey and Kicker was a lowkey but ultimately perfect combo to finish on—two short, sharp tracks that exemplified the artist’s charm. The former featured Alex G’s touchstone boyish drawl and penchant for storytelling; the short tune given more room to breathe live. The latter was a droning bit of surrealism, played straight along to the very end.

By skilfully traversing his expansive discography, Alex G doled out something for everyone in a great night of music. In sounding louder, more anthemic, and tighter, the music was more powerful than on record, yet somehow lost none of its down-to-earth charm and only served to cement his reputation. See you next time, Alex G.

MATIJA ZIVKOVIC

Photos by Linda Dunjey