Alex Lahey: ‘One of the foundations of queer joy is community’

 They do things a little differently in the States. During her five-week stint overseas, Lahey saw that first-hand.

“I mean the most obvious difference is that there’s just more people. On a surface level, touring is enormously different – like you drive everywhere instead of flying.” The crowds in the States welcomed Lahey like an old friend, with each city bringing its own unique crowd to see the Mushroom star perform.

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“Every place you go to in the US has its own way of finding music. Each town has its own radio station, and that’s like how they find out about music.” 

The beginning of the tour has been unique, refreshing and an excellent opportunity to expand Lahey’s musical community and fanbase. “But there’s nothing like touring home and having hometown show,” she says. “After being away from Australia and then coming back to Australia,  it feels like every show… there’s a beautiful familiarity.”

Lahey is trying to give even more fans the opportunity to see her perform this new album by performing in smaller suburbs and venues like Belgrave’s Sooki Lounge. “I mean Sooki Lounge is a great venue, but I also feel like music shouldn’t be restricted to the inner city, you know? This tour isn’t a regional tour, but it’s nice to pepper in some venues outside of major cities.” So, no excuses! Get down and see Lahey play! 

After five weeks in the US touring, Lahey is well and truly back in her element and ready to dazzle Aussie audiences. Is it nervousness, or excitedness in the air for the indie-pop heavyweight?

“ I’m super excited. The main thing is that we’re going on tour with this album for the first time ever. We just did five weeks in the US, and it was awesome. But now these songs have their own personality, their own comfortability in a live setting. It’s really nice to be coming home with a fully formed show and to me it feels like, officially showing off this record to my home country.”

Fresh off the heels of a killer KEXP set, I wanted to get an understanding of how Lahey views her music. Is it most realised in a studio recording, or does the core of the song come out in that live, acoustic setting? But of course, there is nothing cookie-cutter about Lahey – or her songs.

“I feel like they can exist in many formats. One of the cool things about being a music fan is getting to watch bands play songs that you love and having a different experience in every format you experience that in. As an artist, it’s about making each of those formats as good as it can be. I love going to see bands and seeing them do something completely different.

“Like this song I’ve picked apart again and again, seeing it done so different. I don’t think either version is more fully formed. I think bands like to change it and keep it fun. I’m not the kind of musician who just likes to get on stage and do the same thing again and again. It’s nice to be in the unknown, it keeps me excited. It’s great to be able to say yes to things like KEXP and reappropriate these songs that are a part of you.”

From humble origins to several smash-hit releases, Lahey is now a household name across Australia. “I think the real moment I knew it was possible for me was when Triple J Unearthed got me to play Splendour in 2016.” But Lahey’s drive and continued innovation is the key to the success of this new record. 

“You’ve been handed an opportunity and it’s just what you make it. When someone, or a group of people like a crowd put you in that spot, that can be the challenge of being a musician: taking that opportunity and giving it all you can.”

To be able to make the most of that opportunity, especially in the public eye as an openly queer woman, is nothing short of impressive. These themes are embedded in her lyricism and her personhood. 

“I mean I think, like, queerness is an enormous part of… It defaults to being an enormous part of my life and the lens through which I observe the world. I think that one of the foundations of queer joy is community.”

One of Lahey’s signatures is her tongue-in-cheek, verbose lyricism. “I’m a real verbal person. I like to talk things out quite tangentially which sometimes gets me in trouble because I will acknowledge all these different arguments and sometimes people think I believe something I don’t. Like, going through a breakup, when I’m faced with a situation of hardship like that, I don’t lock myself in a room or go within myself. I need the connection, the communication in order to get through it.

“I think that’s a big part of the tone a lot of my music takes. When something happens to me, I don’t immediately write a song, I go away and then write it. So, I think that gives my lyrics some hindsight and maybe even some humour – some tongue-in-cheek moments. I think that’s become kind of a signature in my writing.

“Of course, queerness comes into it, because my breakups default to be queer breakups, but one of the great things being queer has given me is an enormously proud sense of community and support and dialogue and humour. And that’s really cool. My sense of pride goes beyond me as an individual and extends into that community.”

So much has changed for the artist in recent times, her personal life has seen big shifts – living overseas, a public relationship… the list goes on. The Answer is Always Yes era represents lots of changes for Lahey.

“I think every album is bookmarking a period in our life – and what a wonderful thing that is. What a privilege it is to watch artists you love grow. But sometimes it is a little like reading your journals from when you were 15.” 

Alex Lahey is an inspiring person and a prolific creator. Being a musician is a grind and to profit off your own often heartbreaking experiences has to take a toll. But despite the hardships, Lahey says it’s her community that keeps her pushing forward.

“It’s human’s capacity for good. It’s that we keep creating even when things are really tough and painful. That’s what inspires me to get through every day and keep doing what I’m doing.” 

Alex Lahey The Answer Is Always Yes tour dates

Keep up with Alex Lahey here. 

Ebullient and infinitely relatable: Alex Lahey’s The Answer Is Always Yes