It takes Alex G four songs to get there, but “Beam Me Up” acknowledges Headlights as his first album with a true talking point, bound to color nearly everyone’s experience from the Tumblr-era diehards to the recent converts—nine albums and 9 million monthly Spotify followers later, why would someone as self-sufficient and camera-shy as Alex G finally sign to a major label? Seconds later, he’s a stressed-out football star trying to rocket a punt into the stratosphere, but that only leads us back to the iconography of previous Alex G albums. But just when you think you’ve got a read on Alex Giannascoli, Alex G is one step ahead. Three years ago, Alex G was surely winking when he claimed Audioslave as an inspiration. Each recent Alex G record has been accompanied by a fidelity boost—there’s nowhere else to go when you start out recording directly into a computer console.