God Save the Animals

God Save the Animals
Studio album by
Alex G
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2022
StudioHeadroom Studios (Philadelphia)
Spice House (Philadelphia)
SugarHouse (New York City)
Clubhouse (Rhinebeck, New York)
Gradwell House Recording (Haddon Heights, New Jersey)
Watersong Music (Bowdoinham, Maine)
Alex's home (Philadelphia)
Length43:59
LabelDomino
Producer
Alex G chronology
We're All Going to the World's Fair (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2022) 		God Save the Animals
(2022)
Singles from God Save the Animals
  1. "Blessing"
    Released: May 23, 2022
  2. "Runner"
    Released: June 21, 2022
  3. "Cross the Sea"
    Released: July 26, 2022
  4. "Miracles"
    Released: September 8, 2022

God Save the Animals is the ninth studio album by American musician Alex G, released on September 23, 2022, by Domino Recording Company.[1][2][3][4][5] It was produced by Alex G and Jacob Portrait and recorded at various studios in Philadelphia and the northeast United States. It was promoted by four singles including "Blessing" and "Runner". It received acclaim from critics, appearing on various lists of 2022's best albums, and charted on the US Billboard 200 as well as in New Zealand and Scotland.

Recording

[edit]

God Save the Animals was recorded at Headroom Studios, Spice House, and Alex's home in Philadelphia, as well as SugarHouse in New York City, Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, New York, Gradwell House Recording in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, and Watersong Music in Bowdoinham, Maine.[6] The album was co-produced by Alex G and Jacob Portrait.[2]

Promotion

[edit]

God Save the Animals was announced on June 21, 2022, alongside the release of the album's second single "Runner".[2] The album's first single, "Blessing" released on May 23, 2022, prior to the album's announcement.[7] A third single, "Cross the Sea", was released on July 26, 2022.[8] A fourth single, "Miracles", was released on September 8, 2022.[9]

On July 19, 2022, Alex G performed the single "Runner" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon[10][11] and also performed the single "Miracles" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[12]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.2/10[13]
Metacritic86/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Clash8/10[16]
Exclaim!9/10[17]
Mojo[18]
NME[19]
The Observer[20]
Pitchfork8.4/10[21]
The Skinny[22]
Slant Magazine[23]
Uncut8/10[24]

God Save the Animals received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 17 reviews.[14] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.2 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[13]

Will Richards of NME gave the album a perfect five-star rating, praising its "newfound clarity and vulnerability" and writing that it "further confirms his place as one of his generation's most consistently brilliant songwriters."[19] Writing for Beats Per Minute, John Amen gave the album a score of 85%, commenting that "God Save the Animals' production approaches are understated compared to those employed in previous work yet still precisely rendered. What stand out – prominently and unabashedly – are Alex's impeccably crafted and irresistibly delivered songs."[25] Aaron Mook of Chorus.fm "Highly Recommended" the album, writing that it "does exactly what most new albums should: it takes the best aspects of Alex G's past work...and miraculously weaves them into something new. The album is rich with details that become more rewarding with every listen, making God Save the Animals not only an album of the year contender, but among the best work of the songwriter's career."[26]

In a mixed review, Chris Catchpole of Mojo wrote, "The inventiveness on display is undeniably impressive, but the process sometimes hides a little too much of the artist behind it."[18]

Year-end lists

[edit]
God Save the Animals on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
The A.V. Club The 30 best albums of 2022
23
[27]
Billboard The 50 Best Albums of 2022
37
[28]
Exclaim! 50 Best Albums of 2022
4
[29]
The New York Times Best Albums of 2022: Lindsay Zoladz
4
[30]
NME The 50 best albums of 2022
33
[31]
NPR Music The 50 Best Albums of 2022
12
[32]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2022
2
[33]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2022
10
[34]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2022
27
[35]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2022
6
[36]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Alex Giannascoli

God Save the Animals track listing
No.TitleLength
1."After All"3:19
2."Runner"2:36
3."Mission"3:05
4."S.D.O.S"2:50
5."No Bitterness"3:38
6."Ain't It Easy"2:54
7."Cross the Sea"3:36
8."Blessing"3:05
9."Early Morning Waiting"4:03
10."Immunity"3:50
11."Headroom Piano"2:53
12."Miracles"3:44
13."Forgive"4:26
Total length:43:59

Personnel

[edit]
  • Alexander Giannascoli – performance, production, engineering
  • Samuel Acchione – guitar (tracks 3, 8, 9, 13), banjo (track 13)
  • Jessica Lea Mayfield – additional vocals (track 1)
  • John Heywood – bass (tracks 8, 9, 13)
  • Tom Kelly – drums (tracks 5, 8, 13)
  • Molly Germer – strings (tracks 9, 12), string arrangement (tracks 9, 12), additional vocals (track 3)
  • Jacob Portrait – production, mixing, engineering
  • Mark Watter – engineering
  • Kyle Pulley – engineering
  • Scoops Dardaris – engineering
  • Eric Bogacz – engineering
  • Connor Priest – engineering
  • Steve Poponi – engineering
  • Earl Bigelow – engineering
  • Anjan Alavandar – assistant engineering
  • Isaac Eiger – assistant engineering
  • Shubham Mondal – assistant engineering
  • Sophie Shalit – assistant engineering
  • Heba Kadry – mastering
  • Rachel Giannascoli Masciantonio – artwork

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for God Save the Animals
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[37] 41
Australian Physical Albums (ARIA)[37] 40
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[38] 38
Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] 44
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[40] 54
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[41] 13
US Billboard 200[42] 144
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[43] 23
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[44] 16
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[45] 23

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Bloom, Madison (June 21, 2022). "Alex G Announces New Album, Shares Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Rettig, James (June 21, 2022). "Alex G Announces New Album 'God Save The Animals': Hear "Runner"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (June 21, 2022). "Alex G Is Back With a New Album, Single, Fall Tour". Spin. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  4. ^ Soo, JX (June 29, 2022). "Alex G announces UK and Europe tour dates for 2023". NME. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  5. ^ Zemler, Emily (July 19, 2022). "Watch Alex G Perform Emotive Single 'Runner' on 'Fallon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  6. ^ "God Save The Animals, by Alex G". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  7. ^ Rettig, James (May 23, 2022). "Alex G Announces Tour, Releases New Song "Blessing"". Stereogum. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Samantha (July 26, 2022). "Alex G Shares New Single, "Cross the Sea"". Paste. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  9. ^ Moreland, Quinn (September 8, 2022). "Alex G Shares New Song "Miracles": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  10. ^ Zucker, Noah (July 19, 2022). "Watch Philly's Alex G play his new single 'Runner' on 'The Tonight Show'". PhillyVoice. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  11. ^ Deville, Chris (July 19, 2022). "Watch Alex G Make His 'Tonight Show' Debut". Stereogum. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  12. ^ Breihan, Tom (September 30, 2022). "Watch Alex G Play A Tremendously Chill "Miracles" On Colbert". Stereogum. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "God Save The Animals by Alex G reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  14. ^ a b "God Save the Animals by (Sandy) Alex G Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  15. ^ Donelson, Marcy. "Alex G - God Save the Animals Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  16. ^ Mellen, James (September 20, 2022). "Alex G – God Save The Animals". Clash. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  17. ^ Gee, Chris (September 20, 2022). "Alex G Finds Comfort in Confession on the Divine 'God Save the Animals'". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Catchpole, Chris (November 2022). "Alex G – God Save The Animals". Mojo. No. 348. p. 86.
  19. ^ a b Richards, Will (September 20, 2022). "Alex G – 'God Save The Animals' review: nine albums in and at his shapeshifting best". NME. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  20. ^ Joshi, Tara (September 25, 2022). "Alex G: God Save the Animals review – richly textured explorations". The Observer. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  21. ^ Gordon, Arielle (September 23, 2022). "Alex G: God Save the Animals Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  22. ^ Inglis, Tony (September 20, 2022). "Alex G – God Save the Animals". The Skinny. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  23. ^ Barrett, Fred (September 19, 2022). "Alex G God Save the Animals Review: Finding Focus in the Abstract". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  24. ^ Scoppa, Bud (October 2022). "Alex G – God Save The Animals". Uncut. No. 305. p. 29.
  25. ^ Amen, John (September 23, 2022). "Album Review: Alex G – God Save the Animals | Beats Per Minute". beatsperminute.com. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  26. ^ Mook, Aaron (September 20, 2022). "Alex G – God Save the Animals". chorus.fm. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  27. ^ "The 30 best albums of 2022". The A.V. Club. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  28. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2022: Staff List". Billboard. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  29. ^ "Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2022". Exclaim!. November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  30. ^ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (November 30, 2022). "Best Albums of 2022". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  31. ^ "The 50 best albums of 2022". NME. December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  32. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2022 (20-11)". NPR Music. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  33. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". Paste. November 28, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  34. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". Pitchfork. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  35. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2022". Rolling Stone. December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  36. ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2022". Stereogum. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  37. ^ a b "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 3 October 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1700. Australian Recording Industry Association. October 3, 2022. pp. 7, 10.
  38. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 3, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  39. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  40. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  41. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  42. ^ "Alex G Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  43. ^ "Alex G Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  44. ^ "Alex G Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  45. ^ "Alex G Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
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