Alex Lahey – ‘The Answer Is Always Yes’ album review
Melbourne indie hero Alex Lahey arrives with her third studio album, The Answer Is Always Yes, this Friday. Undoubtedly her finest offering to date, it’s a robust body of work encompassing almost every human emotion. It ranges from the unfettered happiness of the lockdown lifted in her hometown to the profound realisation that people continue with their lives, no matter how significant you might once have been to the story.
Boosted by a handful of collaborators, such as the eminent producer Jacknife Lee, Lahey has entered a new chapter with her latest opus. Fusing genuine musical dexterity with a grasp of lyricism better than most, The Answer Is Always Yes, is an endlessly multifaceted record. There are surreal tales about being too stoned with Michael Bolton playing on repeat and analyses of Lahey’s experience of queerness. It’s an immersive experience despite it being pulled from Lahey’s life and times.
It must also be noted that there’s a hefty sprinkling of the songwriter’s dearest third-wave emo contained, with introspective lyrics intersecting with an anthemic sensibility to make fans lose themselves. I recently had a chance to sit down with Lahey, and she revealed her love for Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Sheryl Crow, and she does them both proud on the record.
The album starts well with the unashamedly upbeat ‘Good Time’. A the start of the track, in an almost conversational singing style, Lahey defiantly declares, “I want a good time, not a long time / Let’s get the hell out”. The earworm of the riff and beat then protrude through the mix as Lahey looks back on Melbourne’s intense lockdown being lifted after such a prolonged period. Aided by a funky bassline, the song locomotes to its centrepiece, the chorus, one of the strongest Lahey has ever produced. It’s a summer anthem.
The album then segues into the grungey ‘Congratulations’. Arriving with Nevermind-esque guitars – courtesy of the classic blend of chorus and distortion – another simple but commanding bassline and an infectious vocal performance, this one straddles the emotional line expertly. There’s also the key change in the middle, which further pulls you in. At this point, this defiant singalong wherein Lahey sarcastically congratulates ex-partners on their marriages is taken up a notch, with her delivering an intense lyrical moment in the form of: “There’s no mistaking that I’m shaking by your lightning change of heart / And my obsessing means regressing even if I fall apart”.
Track three, ‘You’ll Never Get Your Money Back,’ carries on this strong run. It opens with another plinky riff and a warm bassline played high up the fret. Suddenly, this contemplative form of indie is firmly pushed to the ground by a commanding chorus. Backed by crunching guitars and heavy use of the crash cymbals, Lahey’s lyrics again augment proceedings as she sings, “Give all you have get nothing back / Love never leaves you in the black”. It then weaves back into the nostalgic-sounding layers of the verse, which sonically leaves you wishing for the heady days of 2006.
One of the record’s highlights is ‘The Sky is Melting’. Starting in a hazy, blue fashion with just Lahey and her electric, she recalls buying weed gummies from a Californian dispensary, an experience juxtaposed to the song’s essence. You don’t know what to expect at this point, with it seeming like it’s just another indie-rock ballad. This thought is gradually undone, though.
In one of the clearest demonstrations of her skill, Lahey conveys the surreal tale of being too stoned with Michael Bolton on repeat, as a host of mesmeric textures envelop the rest of the band in a way that’s reminiscent of something you might find on Bloc Party’s A Weekend in the City, – check out the piano sound during the bridge. I’m whisked back to 2009 and the days of watching the first series of Misfits, with a teenage rush of emotions suddenly washing over. It’s impactful stuff, suggesting the future of Alex Lahey. It’s expansive but not overblown, a tough thing to achieve.
A review of the album would not be complete without mentioning the single, ‘They Wouldn’t Let Me’. An analysis of Lahey’s complicated experience of teenage queerness, blended with layered post-punk, the track is hypnotising if you let yourself give in to it. It might be hitherto unfamiliar territory for Lahey fans, yet the way the clean stabs of the guitar converge with the other flavours, such as the atmospheric, reverb-assisted vocals, is a triumph. I’d like to see Lahey explore darker areas in the future; it works. Elsewhere, the likes of ‘Makes Me Sick’, ‘Shit Talkin” and the closing track, ‘The Answer Is Always Yes’, are also moments of note.
Alex Lahey is starting to realise her full potential as a musician, able to seamlessly bounce between emotions, no doubt facilitated by her decision to branch out and collaborate with others who, in turn, have extracted refinement. She’s also one we recommend catching live.
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