Introducing a new chapter for Alex Giannascoli, Rocket is nuanced and shifting. On his second major release, the Philly multi-instrumentalist sandwiches trademark catchy gloom around warped experimentalism. Off-kilter, intimate sound, propelled by numerous bedroom Bandcamp releases, takes on a full jangle. Then, fiddle nestles “Bobby,” a duet of love and desperation alongside fellow home townie Emily Yacina. Four consecutive tracks, “Witch” through “Sportstar,” are fan-unfamiliar in electro-aggression, but they fit past albums’ discomforting Auto-Tune moments. Something ghostly lives in Giannascoli’s songs, both rootsy and inorganic, and here launching to the forefront. (1:15pm, Barton Springs stage)
This article appears in October 6 • 2017.