Concert / Folk & Singer/​songwriter (sandy) alex g

At the end of Poison Root, the opening track on Alex Giannascoli’s new album, Rocket, the 23-year-old artist repeats the phrase ​“Now, I know everything” again and again, his voice seething over a clatter of banjo, violin, and acoustic guitar sounds. It’s difficult to ascertain the exact tone : does he really think he knows everything ? Or are these incantations a form of self-assurance, covering up insecurity ? The tension between ambition and self-doubt in this closing refrain is typical of Rocket​’s fourteen tracks. Over musical backdrops that effortlessly jump from sound collage to country pop to dreamy folk music, the cast of characters that Alex G inhabits have fun, fall in love, develop obsessions, get into trouble, and burn out. Rocket illustrates a cohesive vision of contemporary experience that’s dark and foreboding, perhaps especially because of how familiar, or to use Alex’s word, ​“unassuming,” the settings are.