There is no Alexander Natalie. Gestures at mystery and persona on the faux-eponymous St. Paul group’s early work have been subsumed into a swirl of memory, heartbreak, and camaraderie on Susu, their 2024 full-length. Songs are electrified by the ashen firelight glow of Noah Topliff-Looney’s lyricism, fueling emotive, sweeping folk rock with a melancholic core. Intricate strata of strings and harmony showcase dense arrangements and keen-eyed compositions, performed with nailbit ease that betrays the lengths taken to arrive at such depth. Live and on record, Alexander Natalie brings the windstruck sublime right up to your ear and allows it to whisper some truth.
Alexander Natalie is Noah Topliff-Looney, Wilson Zellar, Samuel Ketcham, Eric Jaques, and Dylan Hilliker.
