Alexander 23 is shaking the music scene with his debut album, Aftershock.
Aftershock Album Cover
Excerpt: Alexander 23’s debut album, Aftershock released on July 15th, the artist has been co-writing and producing songs and finding his foot in the bedroom pop genre.
Alexander 23, born Alexander Glantz from Deerfield, Illinois, paved his way to a Grammy nomination earlier in 2022 for his co-writing on Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 You.” On July 15th, he shared his heartbreak with the world in his debut album, Aftershock.
This 11-track album has an intimate lyricism that seems like pages ripped out of a personal journal. The opening pop-rock record, “Hate Me If It Helps,” starts with melancholy guitar strums as Glantz sings the lyrics, I wonder if your therapist likes me. I guess it depends on how much of the truth you tell to her.
The faults in the relationship are being painted on Alexander 23. As the song builds into the chorus, Alexander 23 accepts the bad guy card from his ex, telling her if it helps her to move on, he will be the villain in her story.
You can hate me if it helps / Make me out to be the villain
/ Say you’re better by yourself / So it feels like your decision / You can tell ’em I’m the bad guy if it helps you sleep okay / Because all you want is closure, but there’s nothing left to say
As the song ends, it transforms into almost an indescribable energy, literally a shock to the system as Alexander 23 bitterly apologizes to his ex for the sacrifice he made for making her happy.
I’m sorry I stayed up with you every night / For making you laugh when you wanted to cry /
I’m sorry I paid for your SSRIs / For making you happy I apologize / I’m sorry I put you in front of my friends / Yeah, my bad forgiving you for what you said / So go and be angry but you can’t pretend / ‘Cause I know that you never would
The Hardest Part Single Cover
The heavy hitter track 4 on the album as Glantz says, “I’ve never been more proud of a song.” “The Hardest Part” describes loss and grief most delicately. “After I first wrote ‘The Hardest Part’ I didn’t want to put it out. It felt wrong to commoditize grief, especially as so much of it wasn’t even my own. I began to slowly send it to close family and friends, and the response was overwhelming, to say the least. It made me reevaluate the song’s potential place in the world because it reminded me of what I have turned to music for countless times before, to feel understood when words and actions alone weren’t enough. I’m hopeful that we can heal and grow within the comfort of knowing that while our experiences are unique to us, our feelings aren’t. I hope you never relate to this song, but I, unfortunately, know you will, and I hope it can be there for you when you do,” Alexander shared on a now-deleted Instagram post.
Sending condolences after a loss to someone and maybe even to ourselves, it’s hard to know what the “right” words to say are at that moment.
And I don’t know what to say to your little brother / Who am I to say it’s gonna be okay?
My mom’s friends with your mother / Catching up is never gonna be the same / No more texts on your birthday / Every time another friend says your name / No, I don’t know what to say
Touching on the many parts of grief in subtle ways as Glantz comes to terms that even at the young age of 27, he will lose people that he thought would always be there.
I wish I would’ve tried harder to stay in touch / I thought we had more time / Too busy growing up / I guess the hardest part of getting old / Is that some people that you love don’t
The latest single, “If We Were a Party” music video accompanies the album release. Glantz said, “I convinced my label to give me a huge budget for this video, and then made the most over-the-top, stupid, amazing, best video ever.”
An album expressing the remnants of heartbreak, Aftershock conveys the aftermath of heartbreak, grief and loss, it’s worth 37 minutes of your time.
Catch Alexander 23 on the Aftershock tour:
Alexander 23 Tour Poster
Raven Clemons 
Leave a comment