My Takes on Alex G’s New Album "Headlights"

This past summer, in the middle of July 2025, Alex G came out with his brand new album Headlights. I am a huge Alex G fan, and I was super hyped for the release. I also bought tickets to see him live on his album release tour, and I am very pumped to see him live for the first time.

Photo from Alex G

In order to analyze Alex G’s new album Headlights, first, we have to give context about the recent history of Alex G and his music.

 For much of the 2010s, Alex G cultivated an underground and mysterious image. His lyrics were cryptic, angsty, and emotionally intimate, and his sound was fuzzy and experimental. With the release of his second most recent album, God Save The Animals, in 2022, there was more clarity in his songwriting, and most surprisingly, a lot of spiritual themes in his songs.

In “After All,” Alex G sings the lyrics “After all / People come and people go away / Yeah but god with me he stayed” or on “Miracles,” he says “You and me, we got better pills than ecstasy / They’re miracles and crosses”. It definitely gave the sense that Alex G went on some sort of spiritual journey between the release of House of Sugar in 2019 and God Save The Animals, now turning his image from angsty and cryptic to more thoughtful and very open about faith and meaning.

First Impressions of Headlights

To be honest, when I first casually listened to the album, I didn’t like it. Although I also didn’t like God Save the Animals when it was first released, I have since come around to loving it. So I think the same thing will happen to me here with Headlights.

Photo from Rolling Stone

Theme breakdown

Spirituality

In the recent release of Headlights, we get another new perspective on Alex G’s life. In my opinion, this album throws away the idea of finding comfort in spirituality, something so heavily embedded in his previous album, and is more about coming to terms with past mistakes, love, and growing up, without needing to rely on faith to move on and find peace. Through his songwriting, he describes finding new meaning in life through family and finds a way to mature while still taking accountability for his past regrets.

In the early songs of the album, Alex G makes his new detached relationship with spirituality clear. In “Real Thing” he sings, “I went out looking for a real thing / Didn’t notice it was hanging by the door”. To me, it seems like he’s acknowledging that he once searched for the meaning of life through spirituality, but later, had realized that meaning and purpose in life can be something much simpler than an otherworldly explanation he didn’t know about yet. Saying that the real thing to him was actually hanging by the door, tells me that maybe the real thing could be parenthood, and he could be referring to his recently born son, or his wife. On top of that, this idea continues in “Afterlife” where he sings “Let me run on / Afterlife / Filling up a tank with it / Like a kid, I ran it past”. I think Alex G is saying in one way that he found temporary comfort in the idea of the afterlife after we die, or maybe using spirituality to forgive his past mistakes, but realizing he doesn’t want it to carry him forever.

Photo from The Fader

Maturity

Instead of using spirituality as a crutch, now we hear themes of forgiveness and maturity. In “Bounce Boy,” he sings “No thing erases / No one replaces”, and in “Oranges,” he sings “Full of sin / Full of love / We were children”, more examples of how he is taking accountability for past mistakes and accepting that part of him without shame.

“June Guitar,” “Louisiana,” “Spinning,” and “Far and Wide” are all songs that reference the vulnerability of love, regret from past relationships, and the bittersweet feeling that comes with heartbreak. I think by the end of the album, the title track ”Headlights” pulls in all of these ideas together with the opening lyrics “When the road is long / Let the highway sing my song, yeah / When the stars grow dim / Let the headlights light my dawn, yeah”. I think these lyrics can obviously mean a lot, but in the context of the earlier songs on the album, I think that the headlights can be interpreted as his past experiences, mistakes, love, and pain that now help guide him forward on the path he chooses to take.

Right before creating Headlights, Alex G signed a record deal with a big record label, RCA Records. The lyrics “Some things I do for love / Some things I do for money / It ain’t like I don’t want it” from his song “Beam Me Up” suggest that maybe after growing up, his priorities have shifted, and maybe he signed the deal to financially support his child. This interpretation calls back to his song “Proud” off of the album Rocket, where he sings “I don’t wanna be the one to leave my baby down without no money in her bank”. Further lines in “Beam Me Up” such as “I’m gonna put that football way up in the sky / I’m gonna put that rocket way up in the sky” are definitely references to his earlier albums DSU and Rocket. These lyrics could suggest that he is going to cherish his past as a young, ambitious musician and now put his full energy into his family.

The closing song, “Logan Hotel (Live)”, signs off on a sweet and reflective note, giving the feeling of release from his past troubles. The lyrics “Once you get the feeling you have two lives / Well, now you gotta pick a side” could definitely refer to the tension between his life as a touring musician and his life as a father. Ultimately, Alex G finishes the album with tenderness, singing “Baby, hold on now / I ain’t gonna let you go / Buddy come on now, yeah”. This confidently concludes that his past struggles have led him down a new path full of love.

Photo from Interview Magazine

Sound breakdown

Sonically, Alex G’s Headlights is more polished and leans more towards folk than his previous work, though with a few exceptions. Yet this folk sound isn’t raw, obscure, and experimental like the folk from his 2017 album Rocket. Elements like the mandolin, strings, accordion, and a very polished sound recording instead make for a much warmer and cleaner sound on Headlights. The album notably features a strong folk-inspired sound at the beginning and end, but by the middle of the album, it sounds more like the familiar DIY, fuzzy Alex G from his previous work. My absolute favorite track, “Spinning,” sounds like it could fit right into the vibe of Elliott Smith’s XO, the drone in “Louisiana” reminds me of something from his album House of Sugar, and the hyperpop off of “Bounce Boy” sounds like it came from God Save The Animals, as a few examples. While I think every single song on this album stands well on its own, the overall sound of the album didn’t feel very coherent to me. To be honest, I do miss the old cryptic and melancholic sound of 2010’s Alex G, but the soundscape of Headlights serves as an example that he can stay connected to his roots while also maturing musically and personally.  

Photo from Alex G

Summary

Overall, after listening to this album over and over again, writing the analysis for this blog, I have really fallen in love with the songwriting and the story of the album. I like how this album has reinforced an idea I really care about, being that there is no such thing as a broken version of you and a fixed version of you, but rather that we are always whole, and our experiences shape and lead us to who we are today. That even the worst moments have had a positive impact on our character and have shaped us into the people we are today. I am reminiscent of the old music of Alex G, but at the same time, I can appreciate hearing how his sound and perspective have grown.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Industry Insider / Caleb G