Alex Lahey releases moody new song ‘Congratulations’
Alex Lahey is back with a grungy new single plucked from the depths of matrimony remorse as the singer refuses to forever hold their peace and makes an outcry to an ex after their wedding. Naturally, this is a moody and sludgy affair with a bristling bitterness woven into the guitars.
There is a hint of wallowing in self-indulgence when it comes to the pop-punk adjacent feel to the lyrics on display. However, the exultant irreverence of the moving-on guitar pulls it towards something a bit fresher. It’s not quite sweet enough to be bittersweet, but in the tune, Lahey has evidently reached the point where an acid state has been tempered towards apathy.
Speaking about the track, Lahey commented: “Two of my exes got engaged within an improbably short space of time of one another. What are the odds? Couldn’t not write a song inspired by it.” That sense of wryness is also clear in the song—it’s not brimming with a sincere whack, but rather a disdainful scroll through an ex’s Instagram feed.
A bit less scratchy than some of Lahey’s earlier lo-fi outings, the production has moved on to something more polished here. Nevertheless, it still has an old-school feel that sends you back to your high school days. Thus, ultimately, whether you’ll like the track or not comes down to what your tastes were at the time because for some, ‘Congratulations’ will be a dose of acerbic grunge with the wholesome hue of nostalgia, but for others, it will be a pastiche of something we left behind.
The single is apparently the “first of much more to come” so the indie rocker may well have a new album on the way, but for now, we’ll wait in the wings and keep an eye out for confirmation as the ‘Congratulations’ singer hits the road.
The single is out now via Liberation Records and comes ahead of autumn UK dates as both a headliner and with London and Manchester shows opening for Manchester Orchestra. You can check out the video for ‘Congratulations’ directed by Lahey and Jon Danovic below.
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