# DSU (album)

DSU is the fifth studio album by American musician Alex G, released on June 17, 2014, through Orchid Tapes.

## Title

The title of the album is an abbreviation of Dream State University. It is derived from a comment Giannascoli's older sister, Rachel, had made. He explained
   I was asking my sister what I should name the album and she gave me a bunch of names. One of them was Dream State, because I gave her all these songs to listen to and she said that they had a dreamy vibe. I thought that was too cheesy, but I was joking around with the name Dream State University as a play on the whole State University thing that we have in America, and then we were both like 'Oh! That's pretty funny, why don't we do that?' And then I kinda bailed out at the last minute. I just thought it was such a lame fucking name, but I couldn't change it at that point. My sister had already written DSU on the album cover and she was about to put Dream State University at the bottom but I was like 'No! I hate that name, don't do it!' So in the end we just stuck with DSU and it worked out.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Aggregate scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.7/10 |
| Metacritic | 79/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Clash | 7/10 |
| Consequence of Sound | B |
| The Guardian | |
| Mojo | |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Uncut | 8/10 |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, DSU received an average score of 79, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Samme Maine of Drowned in Sound wrote, "Alex G speaks a refreshing honesty, with an artistic flair that many before him have failed to master. It's careful yet effortless, passionate yet distant but above-all, wholly unique." NME's Ben Homewood stated that the album "skillfully combines Neil Young's dusty American songcraft with scratchy lo-fi and wandering electronic influences." Dean Essner of Consequence of Sound said, "At its best, DSU cycles through that duality with aplomb, which will serve as an excellent introduction to his gigantic discography for all new fans." Clash's Mat Smith stated that the album "is enduring evidence that the purest, most interesting music inevitably comes without hefty production or marketing budgets." Rolling Stone critic Simon Vozick-Levinson said, "The more you listen, the more obvious it is that Alex G is a bright new talent in his own right."

### Accolades

| Publication | Accolade | Rank |
| Consequence of Sound | Top 50 Albums of 2014 | 45 |
| CMJ | The 30 Best Albums of 2014 | 9 |
| Crack Magazine | Albums of the Year 2014 | 36 |
| MusicOMH | Top 100 Albums Of 2014 | 53 |
| The Line of Best Fit | The Best Fit Fifty Essential Albums of 2014 | — |
| Pitchfork | The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s | 165 |
| Rough Trade | Top 100 Albums of The 2014 | 65 |
| Time Out London | The 30 Best Albums of 2014 | 22 |
| Vogue | The 10 Best Albums of 2014 | — |
| The Washington Post | Top 50 Albums of 2014 | 26 |

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Alexander Giannascoli

## Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of DSU.
* Alex Giannascoli – production, recording
* Emily Yacina – vocals on tracks 3, 6, 11
* Samuel Acchione – tambourine on track 8
* Warren Hildebrand – audio mastering
* Jason Mitchell – additional mastering
* Rachel Giannascoli – artwork

## Release history

| Region | Date | Label | Format | Edition |
| Various | June 17, 2014 | Orchid Tapes | LPdigital download | Standard edition |
| France | June 17, 2014 | Kütu Folk | CD | Standard edition |
| Europe | November 10, 2014 | Lucky Number | LPCDdigital download | Bonus tracks edition |
| Various | September 16, 2016 | Run for Cover | LPCDcassette | Bonus tracks edition |