DSU
Studio album by
Alex G
ReleasedJune 17, 2014 (2014-06-17)
GenreIndie rock[1]
Length32:32
LabelOrchid Tapes
ProducerAlex Giannascoli
Alex G chronology
Trick
(2012)		 DSU
(2014)		 Beach Music
(2015)
Singles from DSU
  1. "Hollow"
    Released: September 17, 2014[2]
  2. "Harvey"
    Released: December 8, 2014[3]

DSU is the fifth studio album by American musician Alex G, released on June 17, 2014, through Orchid Tapes.

Title

The title of the album is an acronym of Dream State University. It is derived from a comment Giannascoli's older sister, Rachel, had made. He explained

I was asking my sister what I should name the album and she gave me a bunch of names. One of them was Dream State, because I gave her all these songs to listen to and she said that they had a dreamy vibe. I thought that was too cheesy, but I was joking around with the name Dream State University as a play on the whole State University thing that we have in America, and then we were both like 'Oh! That's pretty funny, why don't we do that?' And then I kinda bailed out at the last minute. I just thought it was such a lame fucking name, but I couldn't change it at that point. My sister had already written DSU on the album cover and she was about to put Dream State University at the bottom but I was like 'No! I hate that name, don't do it!' So in the end we just stuck with DSU and it worked out.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[5]
Metacritic79/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Clash7/10[8]
Consequence of SoundB[9]
The Guardian[10]
Mojo[11]
NME8/10[12]
Pitchfork7.9/10[13]
Q[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
Uncut8/10[16]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, DSU received an average score of 79, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6] Samme Maine of Drowned in Sound wrote, "Alex G speaks a refreshing honesty, with an artistic flair that many before him have failed to master. It's careful yet effortless, passionate yet distant but above-all, wholly unique."[17] NME's Ben Homewood stated that the album "skillfully combines Neil Young's dusty American songcraft with scratchy lo-fi and wandering electronic influences."[12] Dean Essner of Consequence of Sound said, "At its best, DSU cycles through that duality with aplomb, which will serve as an excellent introduction to his gigantic discography for all new fans."[9] Clash's Mat Smith stated that the album "is enduring evidence that the purest, most interesting music inevitably comes without hefty production or marketing budgets."[8] Rolling Stone critic Simon Vozick-Levinson said, "The more you listen, the more obvious it is that Alex G is a bright new talent in his own right."[15]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2014
45
CMJ The 30 Best Albums of 2014
9
Crack Magazine Albums of the Year 2014
36
MusicOMH Top 100 Albums Of 2014
53
The Line of Best Fit The Best Fit Fifty Essential Albums of 2014 —
Pitchfork The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s
165
Rough Trade Top 100 Albums of The 2014
65
Time Out London The 30 Best Albums of 2014
22
Vogue The 10 Best Albums of 2014 —
The Washington Post Top 50 Albums of 2014
26

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alexander Giannascoli

No.TitleLength
1."After Ur Gone"2:21
2."Serpent is Lord"3:46
3."Harvey"1:39
4."Rejoyce"1:51
5."Black Hair"2:44
6."Skipper"1:25
7."Axesteel"1:46
8."Sorry"2:42
9."Promise"3:31
10."Icehead"2:50
11."Hollow"4:04
12."Tripper"0:42
13."Boy"3:11
Total length:32:32
Re-release bonus tracks[28]
No.TitleLength
14."Soaker"1:40
15."Waiting for You"3:30
Total length:37:42

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of DSU.[29]

  • Alex Giannascoli – production, recording
  • Emily Yacina – vocals (tracks 3, 6, 11)
  • Samuel Acchione – tambourine (track 8)
  • Warren Hildebrand – mastering
  • Jason Mitchell – additional mastering
  • Rachel Giannascoli – artwork

Release history

Region Date Label Format Edition Ref.
Various June 17, 2014 Orchid Tapes Standard edition
France Kütu Folk CD
Europe November 10, 2014 Lucky Number
  • LP
  • CD
  • digital download
 Bonus tracks edition
Various September 16, 2016 Run for Cover

References

  1. ↑ DeLuca, Dan (December 7, 2014). "Alex G: One-man band a Philly indie success". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Alex G – Hollow, Rough Trade, Manchester". Lucky Number. September 18, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018. We're thrilled to present 'Hollow', the first full single to be lifted from the forthcoming new album DSU from Alex G.
  3. ↑ "Alex G – Harvey Video". Lucky Number. December 8, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018. We're thrilled to present the video for 'Harvey', the latest off-kilter single to be lifted from Alex G's DSU.
  4. ↑ Lavin, Kris (7 January 2015). "Alive in the Dream | A Conversation with Alex G". goldflakepaint.co.uk. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  5. ↑ "DSU by Alex G reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Reviews for DSU by Alex G". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  7. ↑ Donelson, Marcy. "DSU – (Sandy) Alex G". AllMusic. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  8. 1 2 Smith, Mat (November 19, 2014). "Alex G – DSU". Clash. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Essner, Dean (June 18, 2014). "Alex G – DSU". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  10. ↑ Gibsone, Harriet (November 20, 2014). "Alex G: DSU review – Gen-Xers delicately reinvented, slacker-style". The Guardian. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Alex G: DSU". Mojo (253): 92. December 2014.
  12. 1 2 Homewood, Ben (November 9, 2014). "Alex G – 'DSU'". NME. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  13. ↑ Hogan, Marc (June 18, 2014). "Alex G: DSU". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Alex G: DSU". Q (341): 110. December 2014.
  15. 1 2 Vozick-Levinson, Simon (June 17, 2014). "DSU". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Alex G: DSU". Uncut (211): 69. December 2014.
  17. ↑ Maine, Sammy (November 7, 2014). "Album Review: Alex G – DSU". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on November 20, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2014". Consequence of Sound. December 12, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  19. ↑ "CMJ's 30 Best Albums of 2014". AOTY. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Albums of the Year 2014". Crack Magazine. November 21, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Top 100 Albums Of 2014". MusicOMH. December 6, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  22. ↑ "The Best Fit Fifty Essential Albums of 2014". The Line of Best Fit. December 1, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  23. ↑ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork.com. October 8, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Rough Trade's Top 100 Albums of The 2014". AOTY. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  25. ↑ "The 30 Best Albums of 2014". Time Out London. January 20, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  26. ↑ "The Year in Music: A Guide to the 10 Best Albums of 2014". Vogue. December 26, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  27. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums of 2014". The Washington Post. December 23, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  28. 1 2 "Alex G - DSU / Lucky Number from Piccadilly Records". Piccadilly Records. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  29. ↑ DSU (liner notes). Alex G. LUCKY071CD. 2014. LUCKY071CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  30. ↑ "Alex G • DSU". Orchid Tapes. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Kütu Folk Records — Alex G - DSU - CD". Kütu Folk Records. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  32. ↑ "(Sandy) Alex G 'DSU'". Run for Cover Records. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
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