Listen: R.L. Kelly - "Fake Out"

I've made no secret about my feelings for Philly rock quartet Alex G, their tunefully melodic brand of guitar pop is straight up my alley and they release songs on a consistent enough basis for me to be reasonably content. The songs may not be there when return for them (a little diddy called "Joy" for example) but if you pay close enough attention to Alex G, you'll get a new song every whenever they feel like it. And that's essentially how I found out about this split 7" featuring Alex G and R.L. Kelly.

Despite my obvious love of Alex G, I found myself far more impressed by the continuing melancholic pop stylings of R.L. Kelly and her side of the split. It's also a bit of incredibly strong songwriting and it's a joy to be able to hear new songs from her to add alongside her fantastically sad Life's A Bummer EP/cassette. "Fake Out", the split's closing track and the last of R.L. Kelly's three new songs happens to be, in my humble opinion, one of the best. The vocal delivery is stronger, especially in her higher register; the lyrics properly balanced between moments of poetic lyricism and simple yet delightfully endearing narrative of Rachel's trademark sadness. Despite it being the most accessibly presented of R.L. Kelly's songs on the split's it's also the most open to interpretation while also being ear-catching and wonderfully entertaining despite it's sense of hopelessness.  R.L. Kelly's "Fake Out" awakens its listeners latent schadenfreude in a far more healthy and socially acceptable way that's a way better use of your time than Youtube videos of people falling down.



You can purchase Alex G and R.L. Kelly's split 7" digitally on Bandcamp or on limited edition mint/purple vinyl from Birdtapes.

Listen: Alex G - "Lucy"

Remember Alex G? The rip-roaring indie rock Philly foursome that simultaneous inspired a mosh pit at the Orchid Tapes showcase and in my heart? Well their latest track "Lucy" is perhaps nothing at all like that. Oddly enough despite it being a definite change of pace it still rather fills with what you might very well expect from Alex G. Weird, I know. And yet, the rather electronic-leaning track doesn't feel like a dramatic statement from Alex G. Sure it could and probably is a fun little experiment and yet, as far as experiments go, it's not just a simple throw away piece. It slowly builds in complexity while never quite becoming overly complicated. Each moving part audible and stacked on top of each other to get the desire effect. There's not a whole lot being said (other than "Lucy") but there doesn't need to be, there's plenty of exciting things taking shape in front of you.

Pitstop: Alex G

There's something to be said for jumping into a music discovery situation almost blind. Two weekends ago, I found myself at Living Bread in Brooklyn for Orchid Tapes inaugural showcase. I ended up there essentially as a tag along with Cemeteries' Kyle Reigle who was in town visiting that weekend and for another opportunity to see newly minted ex-Canadian Foxes in Fiction again after discovering him at Portals/Stadiums & Shrines' incredible CMJ showcase at La Sala. My first hint at the sheer level of awesome music I would consume that night should've been in the fact that the Cemeteries frontman was willing to take a nearly 7 hour cross-state excursion to make it to the event. Despite the multitude of incredible bands that night (R.L. Kelly, Happy Trendy, the aforementioned Foxes in Fiction, Julia Brown, and Coma Cinema), one of my absolute favorites was Philadelphia's Alex G.

It might've been the fact that a mosh pit broke out almost immediately upon the impact of their first note but really, my enjoyment of their set was based on more than that. Featuring pretty laid back indie rock vibes (that functioned as a kind of weird dichotomy to the furious moshing that was occurring in front of the band), my first take away from the band was that they were essentially Pavement. An observation that reeks of shallow comparison, I'll admit. But in "Forever", I heard vestiges of "Gold Soundz" whether imagined or not. A far better comparison might be Why There Are Mountains era Cymbals Eat Guitars (who also share that seemingly unshakeable Pavement-esque classification) sans rugged experimental streak.

Need for comparisons aside (or the lack thereof), Alex G is pleasant, tuneful but certainly not vacant indie rock everyone can get behind. Written and recorded by the band's eponymous frontman, Alex G's music is angular slow-burning lo-fi jams that are never long enough to overstay their welcome, instead able to enjoy limitless replay value unless you have the self control required to break yourself away.