Alex Lahey

An Australian singer/songwriter with a sardonic streak and a flair for crafting melodically charged and relatable pop-punk anti-anthems, Alex Lahey broke through in 2016 when her song “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me” earned her awards and positive press both at home and in the United States. On her first full-length album, 2017′s I Love You Like a Brother, Lahey showed off her knack for energetic guitar-based tunes with equal portions of hooks and attitude, while 2019′s The Best of Luck Club found her mixing up her performances with a wider range of influences and tempos. She returned in 2023, revealing a newfound vigor on The Answer Is Always Yes. Citing an array of influences, from the Killers and Paramore to Dolly Parton and Bruce Springsteen, Alex Lahey was born in Melbourne on July 30, 1992. She started playing both guitar and saxophone when she was 13 years old, and studied art and jazz when she first enrolled in university. She soon put her academic focus strictly on art, but kept up with music by joining a local band called Animaux, in which she sang and played sax. As Lahey became more interested in songwriting, she left the band to become a solo artist. She submitted one of her songs, “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me,” for the Josh Pyke Partnership, a talent search to support promising Australian songwriters, and in 2016 the song beat out 200 other entries to win the prize. Just as important, later that week the online music journal Pitchfork named the song Best New Track, giving her music international exposure. After Lahey won the Unearthed prize for new artists from Australian radio network Triple J, her first EP, the five song B-Grade University, was issued by Caroline Australia Records in August 2016, and she hit the road as opening act for Tegan and Sara. American indie Dead Oceans offered her a deal in January 2017 and promptly reissued B-Grade University in the U.S. Lahey’s first full-length album, I Love You Like a Brother, followed in October of that year, peaking at number 15 on Australia’s pop chart and earning positive reviews. She mounted her first North American and European tours, while back home she was nominated for a 2018 ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist - Release. Working with Australian producer Catherine Marks, Lahey spent much of 2018 in the studio recording her follow-up. Released in May 2019, the more mature and eclectic The Best of Luck Club reached number 30 on the ARIA charts and was followed by extensive tours of Australia, North American, and Europe. When further touring plans were grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lahey home-recorded an EP, Between the Kitchen and the Living Room, and offered it as a surprise release to fans in May 2020. That same year she contributed an original song, “On My Way,” to the animated sci-fi film The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Following a 2021 collaboration with fellow Australian Gordi, Lahey signed with Los Angeles-based Liberation Records and released “Spike the Punch.” Additional singles like “Shit Talkin” and “They Wouldn’t Let Me In” appeared over the next year in the buildup to her third album. A sharply written barrage of hooky breakup anthems, The Answer Is Always Yes arrived in May 2023. ~ Mark Deming