Alex Izenberg burst on the scene in 2016 with his debut record Harlequin, with the Beach Boys and the Velvets as just two of a panoply of influences. Last month, he returned with the release of “Disraeli Woman,” a perfect burst of Southern California sunshine pop. We sat down with him to discuss his music, the new track, and what’s next.
How did you first get into playing music?
Well, I first got into music by listening to records my parents and family would play. I got my first guitar when I was a kid and would try playing Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix by ear. I was too young to realize that that despite being very talented, Jimi and Kurt both OD’ed and they weren’t the best role models—but then again nobody’s perfect.
Growing up, what were some of your musical touchpoints? How much have those changed over the years?
Jimi Hendrix was a big inspiration growing up—now I like a ton of stuff. I personally don’t listen to Jimi that much anymore, it feels a little stale to me. Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear really hit home for me—it’s like classic rock but on steroids. I also really like Animal Collective and The War On Drugs, to name a couple.
What have you been up to since the release of your 2016 debut album, Harlequin?
For a second after Harlequin came out, I felt really bad because some of the critics kind of pooh-poohed it and I was taken off guard by that. After that I did some recording and producing and writing, and that led me to now. Just been working hard to progress artistically and mature mentally.
The title: big fan of 19th century Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli? What was the inspiration behind the new track?
It was inspired by Cream, it has nothing to do with politics (at least consciously). They had an album called Disraeli Gears and I just thought it’d be fun to make a song called “Disraeli Woman” ’cause it had a nice ring to it. I only later found out that it was a reference to the politician, haha. I just thought it was a cool idea for a song, I wasn’t trying to make “Bohemian Rhapsody”!
What can you tell us about your other new music on the way?
There isn’t a lot I can say at this point, but I can say that it’s inspired by nature, and it’s inspired by the absence of fear and shutting out fear. I think fear is a very dangerous thing and can make people do things that are bad (and sometimes drive them to do things that are cool, too, but… yeah). It’s also heavily inspired by the Sixties and Seventies (in my opinion, the best era).
