William Alexander Strangest Things

For William Alexander, the songs presented on Strangest Things could have very well become a musical oddity - an undoubtedly brilliant yet unearthed collection of finely crafted pop classics. Until now, the album had been quarantined for nearly five years. For reasons both within and beyond his control, Alexander is only now prepared to release Strangest Things, a collection of warped, loop-based songs that are both blooming and cerebral. Shedding his former solo moniker, The Meanest Boys, he aims to cleanse the past as he dreams into a more direct future. And while many of these songs may be relics in his mind, they are as purposeful and immediate as ever - a true testament to his pop writing prowess. Recorded in his Fullerton, CA bedroom, these dusted songs are kaleidoscopic prisms constantly in motion, grounded by hip-hop indebted beats and stoned atmospherics. And floating somewhere above it all are Alexander's haunting vocals, which usually seem to be either coming from another room or disintegrating into nothing. Over the course of the album, he has a way of sounding effortless, cool, apathetic, patient, and fed up all in the same breadth. Strangest Things is a dazed, weirdo pop record in a (hang) loose sense, but its strengths lie in its singular and unique delivery.