And your ears shall hear…

Why Alex G’s “Afterlife” Is the Single of the Year. By someone still emotionally recovering from the second listen.

Let’s get this out of the way first: Alex G didn’t just drop a song with “Afterlife.” He dropped a spiritual disturbance. A ghost that sings in falsetto and rattles your bones softly, then screams inside your ribcage when you’re trying to go about your day. And yeah, it’s only August—but is anyone else out there seriously questioning how any other song this year is going to top this?

If you’re reading this and you’re an Alex G fan, I need to hear from you. Because this one’s different, right? It’s not just another weird-folk-experimental-loner-jam. This one feels… transcendent. Like it’s crawling toward heaven and dragging you with it.

The Voice of a Torn-Up Angel

Let’s talk about that vocal. Alex’s falsetto is so fragile, so naked here, it’s practically on the verge of disintegration. But that’s the point. It’s too human. The quiver in his delivery makes the song feel like it’s just barely holding on—like someone singing through grief or memory loss, or after being visited by something they couldn’t fully explain.

And then it builds. Barely. Softly. With tension, with restraint. And suddenly you’re in the chorus, and he’s chanting something that sounds like the sweetest threat:

“I’ll see you in the afterlife…”

It’s romantic. It’s terrifying. It’s desperate. It’s pure Alex G.

The Sonic Simplicity That Hits Like a Revelation

What’s wild is how deceptively simple the track is. Piano, light percussion, a string here or there—nothing fancy, no overproduction. The mix feels like it’s happening in a room you just walked into by accident, and now you don’t want to leave. It reminds you that less is sometimes all you need when everything is behind the voice.

You can tell this song was written in solitude. Maybe late at night. Maybe after losing someone. Maybe after realizing you’ll never be the same.

And yet—somehow—it’s also comforting?

A Love Song for the End (and the Beginning)

That’s the twist, right? It’s not just a sad boy anthem. It’s a promise. A whisper to someone who’s gone (or leaving) that this isn’t the end. It’s Alex saying:

I’ll find you. Even if I have to die to do it.

Who else is writing songs like that right now? Who else dares to make something so emotionally open in an era of cool detachment and irony? This is the kind of song you send to someone you love deeply and haven’t spoken to in years. The kind of song that might say the thing your own words can’t touch.

So… Is It the Single of the Year?

For me? Possibly. I sometimes throw that label around too easily when I get deep into a new song, playing it over and over. “Afterlife” is a vibe, it’s not just a great song. It feels necessary. Like it cracked a little hole in the sky and let something divine leak out.

But what about you?

Fans, lurkers, romantics, skeptics—I want to hear from you.

• Did “Afterlife” hit you in the gut too?
• Did you cry? (It’s fine. I got emotional in the Michigan mountains listening to this.)
• Where does it rank in your Alex G top 5?
• Is he channeling Elliott Smith? Early Sufjan? Or is this just… something entirely his own? I vote for the last option.

Talk to me. Let’s build a little afterlife of our own down in the comments.