Asked how long he’s been Alexander Orange Drink, Alex Zarou Levine pulls a packet out of his backpack and tosses it on table in front of him. “That’s my orange drink,” he says. The musician laments for a moment that the name is no longer a secret, because it’s 2018 and secrets don’t exist anymore.
But Levine and his Brooklyn-based band of brothers, The So So Glos have never been afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeve. In a world of ironic detachment, their music is proudly earnest and anthemic. “Fuck art, let’s dance,” he says, referencing the infamous Stiff Records slogan when asked to describe the overarching theme of his solo debut.
Out this week, Babel On is a document of troubled times both internally and externally. It’s the product of a singer who’s long found solace in making and listening to music, from the rare metabolic disorder that requires him to carry around the aforementioned orange drink, to a political climate that’s infinitely more troubling than any we’ve experienced in our lifetimes.