WATCH: Alex Lahey – ‘They Wouldn’t Let Me In’

Following the release of lead single ‘Good Time’, the infectious ‘They Wouldn’t Let Me In’ is the latest single from Australian artist Alex Lahey‘s upcoming third album and debut for Liberation, The Answer Is Always Yes; a reflective post-punk track inspired by the isolation she experienced during her teenage years. “I spent a lot of time thinking about my own experiences growing up as a queer teenager…being excluded from conventional romantic rites of passage…feeling like I couldn’t relate to anyone around me.”

Finding inspiration after watching the coming-of-age TV romantic comedy-drama ‘Heartstopper’ (adapted from the webcomic of the same name by Alice Oseman), Alex put into words those tough moments many queer teens experience as they try to adapt to a seemingly non-inclusive world: “I couldn’t get into the bar or the church / Or the backseat of your mother’s car / The club or the bus or the band where no one plays guitar / The dance at your school / Or the change rooms at the swimming pool / The haunted house down the street / That all those people died in…”

Venturing into a furniture store for the accompanying music video – co-directed with Claire Giuffre – Alex Lahey furnishes us (literally!) with a multitude of emotions. Through self-discovery, co-writing alongside Chris Collins, she revels in the absurdity through propulsive rhythm and cathartic honesty; finding comfort in discomfort.

“Living in a world that wasn’t made for you makes you pretty strong and adaptive… It also makes you realise how absurd everything is. With this record, I wanted to get weird because the world is weird, and it’s even weirder when you realise you don’t fit into it all the time.”

“They wouldn’t let me in / C’mon just let me in / Why don’t you just fucking let me in?”

The Answer Is Always Yes, the upcoming album from Alex Lahey, is set for release on 19th May via Liberation.

Ken Wynne
@ken_wynne

Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana

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New Track: Cosmic Ninja – ‘Cardiac Unrest’

Living up to the vibe you might expect of a band called Cosmic Ninja, their newest track ‘Cardiac Unrest‘ is a fast-paced futuristic banger. 

Kicking off with a low but bouncy bass riff throbbing through the first few bars, it rapidly ramps up with a raucous, powerful rage, as strings and synths leap into the fray. The resulting soundscape feels like a battlefield – exciting and dangerous, rushing with righteous adrenaline. The lyrics match this energy; phrases like “step up step up, we’re not messing around, we’re gonna hold our ground” are delivered with an infectious passion. It’s difficult to listen to this song and not end up on the band’s side against the oppressive forces they’re facing off against.

Blending a sense of personal determination (“I’m doing my own thing and i don’t give a fuck what you think”) with an undefined foe that feels much wider-reaching (“we’ve got to put a stop to this somehow”), the lyrics are left open for you to project your own concerns onto, whether you’re worried about bigoted governments with too much power or a single bully persecuting you alone. Regardless, the energy is the same. The synths scream and the drums roll like thunder; inspiring all the fury and confidence required to stand up and fight back.

The track ramps up to a screaming crescendo, before rolling back into the chorus then ending abruptly on the “we aren’t fucking backing down”. There is no room for misinterpretation here: ‘Cardiac Unrest’ is a statement, a promise and a threat all in one.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

Photo Credit: Rupert Gammond

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New Track: Hand Habits – ‘Something Wrong’

‘Something Wrong’ is the new single by Hand Habits, taken from their upcoming mini-album Sugar The Bruise, set for release in June. Hand Habits is the project of Meg Duffy, an American musician and guitarist who has played as a studio musician on records by the likes of The War on Drugs, Weyes Blood and Perfume Genius.

It’s not often a song captivates me as much as ‘Something Wrong’ did on first listen, taking me on a journey with its charming sounds and interesting textured soundscape. The track starts with a huge drum sound with an ’80s style reverb and acapella vocals. As a huge fan of acapella, this was the perfect way to instantly immerse the listener, complementing the dark and edgy melody.

The track soon erupts into a warm folky chorus complete with acoustic guitar, dreamy harmonies and gentle vocals, juxtaposed with the very different feel of the verse. In the second verse, a robotic vocal harmony enters, giving it a once more different feel – something slightly unsettling, yet deeply satisfying. 

Building into a more dramatic third, the buzzing synth gives it an enchanting sense of urgency. The repetition of “is there something wrong with that” is an earworm of a melody that gets in your head. Despite the lyrical sparseness, it has an intimacy that draws you in, making you contemplate life. 

The songs on the album were all inspired by a songwriting class that Duffy taught in summer 2021 and were semi-improvised – surrendering to and trusting in whatever sounds and words emerged in the session. On the track, which was co-produced by Luke Temple with additional production, engineering and arranging from Jeremy Harris, Duffy created something which, in their own words, “turned out nothing like I’d imagined it would.”

‘Something Wrong’ is a carefully crafted track, oozing an exquisite stirring depth; setting the bar high for the rest of the album, and I can’t wait to hear it. 


Sugar The Bruise, the upcoming mini album from Hand Habits, is set for release on 16th June via Fat Possum.

Ella Patenall
@ellapatenall

Photo Credit:  Ivanna Baranova 

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LISTEN: Tina Boonstra – ‘If I Could’

Having received acclaim from the likes of Tom Robinson at BBC 6Music and Under The Radar magazine, London-based artist Tina Boonstra recently shared the beautifully anthemic ‘If I Could’, the third single from her upcoming debut album, Circle Back Start Again. The album is a collection of stories inspired by real-life encounters and tenderly asks; what do we do when life doesn’t go the way we expect?

‘If I Could’ is a powerfully poignant case in empathy, dealing with with the difficult subject of miscarriage. Right from its opening power chords and Tina’s crisp vocals, the story begins. “Can we pick it back up where we left it? Right before we got the message / To come back to the ward / ’cause the doctors want to talk.” We are immediately pulled into the stirring narrative by the percussion which conveys the nervousness of the situation, and the ominous piano note bringing a stirring stillness – “There is no going back from here”.

The sudden burst into the chorus is a like a friend offering a steady shoulder to cry on: “If I could I would build you back / brick by brick / and you would fly”. We can feel the sadness and emotional release, especially in the compelling guitar solo with its effective distortion effects.

Strong yet soothing, this song offers support in the face of a grief which is so often not talked about. A truly heartfelt, musically rich insight into vulnerability and getting through tough times.

Circle Back, Start Again, the upcoming new album from Tina Boonstra, is set for release on 28th April.

Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker

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