Indie musician Alex G's second live album, due out this summer, includes 14 tracks that he performed over three nights at Union Transfer last November. And it only is available on vinyl.
"Live From Union Transfer" can be purchased Friday, June 30 at independent record stores in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. The 3,500 copies being sold are hand-numbered on tangerine vinyl. A limited number of online pre-orders already has sold out. That means Philadelphia-area fans hoping to score a copy will have to visit one of the eight record stores in the city and suburbs expected to carry it.
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The album mostly features live renditions of songs Alex G's 2022 album, "God Save The Animals," plus a handful of favorites from earlier in the the singer-songwriter's career. It includes many of the songs he performed at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in California last month, including "Runner," the album's hazy, mid-tempo lead single.
The track listing includes 10 other songs from "God Save The Animals," including "Mission," "S.D.O.S.," "No Bitterness," "Ain't It Easy," "Cross The Sea," "Blessing," "Early Morning Waiting," "Headroom Piano," "Miracles" and "Forgive." It also features "Gretel" and "Hope" from the 2019 album "House of Sugar," and "After Ur Gone" from 2014's "DSU."
Alex G was backed by his longtime house band during his performances at Union Transfer. The band includes bassist John Heywood, drummer Tom Kelly, violinist Molly Germer and guitarist and vocalist Sam Acchione.
There are 12 record stores in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware that will be selling copies of "Live At Union Transfer." They include Philadelphia stores Repo Records, Main Street Music, Laundress and Long In The Tooth. All 12 stores can be found on the map below. Alex G fans who live outside that region can search for the closest stores to their homes on the singer-songwriter's website.
"God Save The Animals," released last fall, was recorded at Headroom Studios in Philadelphia, Gradwell House Recording in Haddon Heights, Alex G's home in Philly and a handful of studios in New York and Maine. It received widespread acclaim from critics, with Pitchfork praising it for its "grounded patience and moments of sharp lyrical simplicity."
The album peaked at No. 16 on Billboard's Top Alternative Albums chart and was included on a variety of best-of-2022 lists, including those from NME, Rolling Stone and Stereogum. While promoting the album, Alex G performed on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert."
"In life, you encounter people with different points of view and you mull them over yourself to see how it would work with your perspective," the singer told The Fader. "Experiences like that made me try out writing from different points of view. I think on some of the songs, it's a resigned point of view — which I guess isn't true faith (in God). But then on others, I guess faith is believing that you deserve to be loved."
Alex G's three-night stay at Union Transfer included a cameo appearance by Japanese Breakfast, the band headed by Michelle Zauner. The concerts were not without controversy, becoming the subject of a joke that lice were spreading around the audience. It was a reference to the actual lice scare that happened during a Waterparks concert in 2021.
On Aug. 26, Alex G will perform at the Dell Music Center in Philadelphia alongside Canadian indie pop band Alvvays. A limited amount of upper-level tickets for the summer show are still available on Ticketmaster for $45.