Alexander 23 Is Feeling the Aftershock of Releasing His Debut Album
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The post Alexander 23 Is Feeling the Aftershock of Releasing His Debut Album appeared first on Consequence.
“I would really appreciate it if people would listen to my album enough to make me famous enough to play in the NBA All-Star Game,” says Alexander 23 of his debut LP, Aftershock. “That would be great.”
He might not be on the short list for the game just yet, but anyone who thinks they don’t know Alexander 23 is probably wrong. The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and deft producer is a multi-instrumental talent who has worked with Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigo, and John Mayer, along with bedroom-pop cohorts like Chelsea Cutler and Jeremy Zucker. His collaborative work has been shared alongside solo endeavors: two EPs and enough singles to fill out an album all their own.
With a resume already so stacked, it’s a bit surprising to realize that his new album, Aftershock (available today, July 15th), is his official full-length debut. Alexander joined Consequence over the phone to break down how he feels on the cusp of the release.
The album spans 11 tracks, four of which were released as singles in advance of the full project. Alexander 23 cares so much about his music, from both a sonic and lyrical perspective, and shares that he found it liberating to assemble songs for a full-length project rather than have to just focus on another single.
“A big focus for me for this album was trying to discern crazy from good,” he shares. He explains that he’s the kind of writer who often finds himself evaluating his own music on a metric of how “impressive” or complicated it is, and challenged himself in the assembly of Aftershock to unpack that self-imposed expectation. Instead, he gave himself the time and space to experiment, and then to peel apart and shape the record how he saw fit.
This includes “Fall 2017, (What If)” which feels like if some imaginary 21st-century version of The Beatles recorded a song for John Mayer’s The Search for Everything (“That’s the nicest thing you could ever say to me,” Alexander replies), alongside upbeat, concert-ready offerings like “Cosplay.”
When it comes to modern singer-songwriters, there’s a tendency to leave plenty of work on the cutting room floor, but Alexander explains that this wasn’t really the case when preparing for this LP. “A lot of songwriters are really good at ‘writing for sport,’ but that’s never been a huge strength of mine,” he explains. “I’m so focused on lyrics in particular, but I don’t necessarily have an unlimited well of lyric ideas.”
Aftershock is a breakup album, plain and simple. He enthusiastically affirms the description of the album as a “time capsule,” sharing that conceptualizing and completing this album was nothing short of catharsis. He began writing “Live in Me Forever” before he had even confirmed a full-length project, and knew it was a song he had to sit with for a while before finding it a home.
Much of the project was recorded in Los Angeles before he traveled to Miami. It was there, heading in and out of a sun-dappled studio each day, that he says he realized the album was actually going to exist, materializing beyond the amorphous vision from which he began. “I was surrounded by studios that were bumping while I was crying over a baby grand piano,” he recalls.
One of the tracks recorded in Florida is the album closer, “RIP You and Me,” a nostalgic, cinematic finale to the story told in Aftershock. There’s a piano breakdown in the middle of the song and an equally glittering outro; Alexander reveals that while he gave this portion of the song a first pass, he later called Charlie Puth to come in and give the piano portion a shot, and it’s that largely improvised take used in the final version.
Alexander 23 is thoughtful about the kind of music he wants to make and where each song he works on fits into his story as an artist. He’s eager to get back into the studio to work on projects for others, which he describes as one of the greatest joys in his life. He’s also already looking forward to more new music of his own — which he’s coy about for now — and then eventually to digging into a second full-length album.
“Putting out an album is so cool because, one, you get to put out a body of work that you’re proud of,” he explains. “But you also just get to put out the music and move on.”
Catch Alexander 23 on tour this year at the dates below and get tickets via Ticketmaster.
Alexander 23 North American Tour Dates:
10/07 – Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club
10/08 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
10/09 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
10/12 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
10/16 – Detroit, MI @ The Shelter
10/18 – Toronto, ONT @ The Danforth Music Hall
10/19 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
10/20 – Boston, MA @ Big Night Live
10/22 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
10/25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
10/27 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East
10/28 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
10/29 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
10/31 – Dallas, TX @ The Echo Lounge
11/01 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
11/02 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
11/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
Alexander 23 Is Feeling the Aftershock of Releasing His Debut Album
Mary Siroky
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