“Age ain’t nothin’ but a number!” said no one, ever, or at least anyone with at least a modicum of sincerity. Because, it seems that for most people, age brings not only wisdom, but a greater awareness of self and how to express that self in a meaningful manner. Perhaps that’s why we don’t hear from younger — say, teenage — artists as often as we might like. When it takes so much energy to just understand yourself on a daily basis, the task of creating art can be therapeutic, yet daunting.

But Alex G, whose soft-spoken indie first began to turn heads during his tenure as a Temple University undergrad a few years ago, seems undaunted, regardless of his age. Harnessing youthful angst to its full effect, Alex G’s songs are heartfelt but genuine, and poetic. “Kicker”, off his seventh (!) release (but first with Domino), Beach Music, is a perfect example. “Heaven maybe freedom/Whats the word/Right I forgot/Quiet is the closest thing we got” he murmurs dreamily to a simple melody, with chord-turnarounds very reminiscent of Elliott Smith (to which Alex G understandably draws a lot of comparisons).

Alex G’s world, like that in “Kicker”, is an abstract dream where feelings are intact but all of the lines are blurred. It’s nice to see that his signing on with a bigger label hasn’t changed that too much.

“Kicker” is streaming below, and the whole album is available now via Domino.