Crying Over Alexander 23’s Latest EP “Oh No, Not Again!” (and Boys)
Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group
Alexander Glantz, better known as Alexander 23, made his debut into the indie-pop scene in 2019 with the ever-so honest EP “Sorry I Love You” which garnered attention for “Dirty AF1s” and “Mars”. Glantz’s artistry comforts many as he shares vulnerable-yet-relatable feelings about topics, such as love and mental health. Success continued to follow him when his single, “IDK You Yet” went viral on TikTok and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He continues to command the virtual stage with his latest nine track EP “Oh No, Not Again” that was released on February 19, 2021.
Sitting in the 23 Questions podcast/music making room, Glantz candidly discusses the crafting of the EP “Oh No, Not Again!”, creating in music during quarantine, and advice for artists and budding musicians.
Album artwork for Alexander 23’s EP, “Oh No. Not Again!”
“Oh No, Not Again!” is a nine-track EP that includes some of his hit singles like, “IDK You Yet” and “Cry Over Boys”. These songs as a body of work chronicle “the lifespan of a relationship — from yearning for someone, to finding someone, to there being some turmoil, to it maybe not working out, to trying to recover, and then, to finally moving on.” Glantz describes “Oh No, Not Again!” EP with a three-word phrase, “sad, but hopeful.” He prefaces with a memory of his mom asking why his songs are all sad, even though he’s happy most of the time. “The happy things I feel I don’t need to do anything with that feeling, but when I’m sad, that’s the kind of stuff I need to do some stuff with and figure out and work through. I guess I can best explain it from the “IDK You Yet” lens. That song is definitely super sad in a way, but for me the word, yet, is an incredibly hopeful word. It’s like, I feel like this now, but I can acknowledge it won’t feel like this forever. So, that kind of sums up the sad, but hopeful vibe that I’m trying to accomplish.”
A fun fact about “Oh No, Not Again!” is that Glantz didn’t expect to write a whole EP during quarantine. Over time it had been becoming more clear that he wanted to still write music. He started a challenge to write songs that connect with each others he had written which turned into this EP. Though it might seem like this EP came out of thin air, Glantz admits that adjusting to writing music in isolation was very difficult at the start, even though he did most of his songwriting and producing in his home prior. It was intimidating to have an almost infinite amount of time to write, but it also allowed for him to get distracted in thoughts that didn’t matter and be alone with writing about his experiences in great detail. The biggest difference for him was not having tours to give him the experiences and perspectives that play a big role in his music style.
“At first, I was sad because I loved playing shows, but the longer it went on, I realized I depended on touring to reset my perspective and get new experiences. Having an open-ended amount of time to write at, least for me, can be intimidating. I was spending too much time on things that didn’t matter, and that was tripping me up a bit. But, having said that, I’m grateful it gave me time and space to find out that next wave of sound. I have songs about things that happened to me a few years ago that I wouldn’t have ever wrote about if I didn’t have to sit in the same place and confront things out of necessity,” Glantz shares.
Of the songs on the EP, one standout for me, like many listeners, was “Cry Over Boys”. This track shares a similar vibe to “IDK You Yet” as it revolves around being overly attached to someone you haven’t even met. The lyrics are simple, yet vivid as it describes the repeated crying, brokenhearted-ness, and other repercussions of being in love with that one person in your Zoom class, or maybe a celebrity or a fictional character—Glantz’s picks being Kim Possible and Fleabag—who doesn’t even know you exist. It is painfully relatable to the point listeners can perceive it as a personal attack. While it may seem like one big call out, Glantz describes how he fits into the lyrics.
“Yeah, I just chose violence,” he jokingly said, “When I first wrote this story, I was projecting it onto someone else and then the more I wrote it, the more I saw myself in the lyrics. The way I can fall into the cycle of really romanticizing romance in a way where I put my want for love or a partner ahead of my actual happiness or a sustainable solution to sharing life with someone else. I felt comfortable calling everyone else out because I feel like I’m calling myself out just as much. I wouldn’t do anything at all that I wouldn’t do to myself.”
With this in mind, Glantz hopes listeners can find comfort in listening to another human. Songwriting allows for him to be more comfortable “suppressing [his] ego” that makes him feel alone in such universal experiences. Glantz himself says that out of the whole music process, songwriting is the part he spends the most time on because of just processing his raw experiences. He also adds, “I hate this phrase because it’s so overused, but you’re not alone. I want people to listen and hear another human going through similar stuff. I just have more time to think about it and write about it, but you would come to the same level of insightfulness in your own conclusions...Take it for a drive and do something with it, if you have time. I hope it can serve you the same way it serves me.”
The up-and-coming musician’s triple threat ability —singer, songwriter, and producer— to create tracks like, “Cry Over Boys”, originated from guitar lessons and having a support system. At age 8, he first picked up the guitar and hated it, but once he found a teacher who understood him, he picked it back up after quitting a year prior. Glantz knew early on that he wanted to “shred like Eddy Van Halen'' and write songs. As for parental support, he says, “They never made it feel like it was impossible [to pursue music]”. From there on, he started writing his own music at 12 to performing at three-hour bar gigs at 17, with his parents accompanying him. Though music played a huge part of his life, a career in music was something he had kept in the back of his mind as he had many other interests. One of these interests was pursuing mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. However, just after a year of being at UPenn, he dropped out to pursue music. To drop out of school to pursue your passion is something that holds some stigma in society, especially as an artist. It only leaves people like myself wondering, how did you make that decision?
“There’s this story where it says don’t be an artist, unless you really need to. I didn’t fully connect to that because I did have other interests and I was going to school and studying engineering… But for me, it came down to, ‘What’s going to give me the most fulfillment? What’s going to make me the happiest?’ and that became increasingly clear that only music was only going to heal that itch and allow me to be my own person and express myself.” He ends that note off with “Follow your arrow” a quote from country artist Kacey Musgraves. As general advice for aspiring musicians, he advises, “Don’t be afraid to suck. Go and make it bad. If you make it long enough, you’ll figure out how you want to convey your music, sonically. People get caught up having their first be their masterpiece. Don’t be afraid to manually find out what sounds good instead of putting too much thought into it… [and] find people who fuck with your music as much as you do.”
Alexander 23’s works represent wearing your heart on your sleeve. He executes the “human feeling” in his works in such a simple, yet beautiful way that most everyone can relate to. “Oh No, Not Again!” EP is out on music streaming platforms and prepared to put listeners through a cathartic and much needed emotional rollercoaster. If you’d like to support Alexander 23, check out his website and his socials below.
