Given her dramatic rise it’s easy to forget that aside from a handful of singles Alex Lahey is yet to release a full body of work. Lahey’s debut EP B-Grade University explores the existential crisis most 20-somethings face, documenting the struggle to embrace the highs and lows of adulthood when you’re a broke uni graduate.
Ivy League arrives viafeedback and melodic guitars as Lahey sings about the reality of having to assimilate to the “Nine to five heartache.” The latest single Let’s Go Out has an infectious, call to arms chorus that makes you want to forget about what’s bringing you down and embrace the night. Lahey’s romantic laments are stirring on the track Wes Anderson,perfectly capturing the thrill of being enamoured with someone during the blissful early stages of a relationship. Things aren’t as sweet on You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me asLahey and her band deliver a thrilling ode to being rejected. During the song’s bridge Lahey’s vocals increase in their urgency as she takes you by the collar and pleads “Can’t we pick it up from where we started even if it leaves me broken hearted?”Final track L-L-L-Leave Me Alone pulls apart the pretence of an old flame, with Lahey coyly remarking “I heard your new girlfriend kinda looks like me” as she wraps up the EP on a high.
Anyone in their 20s will agree that things never really feel as though they’re going right, but it certainly seems as though Lahey has found herself on the right path. In order to fund the EP Lahey sold her beloved Toyota Corolla, an impressive sacrifice that will no doubt see her catapult towards international acclaim.
BY HOLLY PEREIRA
