The Answer Is Always Yes Explained

The Answer Is Always Yes
Type:studio
Artist:Alex Lahey
Cover:The Answer Is Always Yes - Alex Lahey.jpeg
Alt:A photograph of Alex Lahey with her head tilted back, eyes closed and mouth open in front of cars on a highway
Released:19 May 2023
Genre:Indie rock
Length:34:53
Chronology:Alex Lahey studio album
Prev Title:The Best of Luck Club
Prev Year:2019

The Answer Is Always Yes is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Alex Lahey. It was released on 19 May 2023 via Liberation Music, and supported by a North American tour from May to June. It is Lahey's first record to feature external songwriters and co-producers, marking a stylistic departure from her first two albums.[1]

At the 2023 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album.[2]

At the AIR Awards of 2024, the album was nominated for Best Independent Rock Album or EP.[3]

Production

Music publication Billboard found the album to have an optimistic outlook on life despite its lyricism focusing on some discomforting topics, with Taylor Mims writing "her positivity breaks through with fuzzy guitar riffs, playful pop tunes, angsty post-punk tracks and her ever-present sense of humor".[4] The Answer Is Always Yes is Alex Lahey's first album to feature external collaborators, whom the artist was originally reluctant to introduce, but upon reflection: "I was able to let them do their best work ... and that's why it worked".

Release and promotion

On 1 September 2022, lead single "Congratulations" was issued alongside a music video and dates for a regional tour beginning in October 2022. Upon the release, Lahey explained she was "drawn to examine her past relationships, and reckon with the feeling she had when seeing her former partners move on".[5] She also hinted that the single was "the first taste in a long-awaited new chapter".[6] On 11 November, second single "Shit Talkin'" was released.[7] The record was officially announced on 1 February 2023 following the premiere of third single, "Good Time", on Triple J.[8]

Following the release of the album, Lahey embarked on a 23-date North American tour, going from May to June. In August 2023, she commenced a nationwide Australian tour.[9]

On 21 September 2023, Lahey announced an expanded edition of The Answer Is Always Yes, which released on 6 October.[10] A new single, "Newsreader", was issued alongside the news.[11]

Reception

John Amen of The Line of Best Fit concluded the album had a "lighter palette" with "sonics relatively subdued, mixes less raucous" compared to her first two records. He concluded that "her melodies are consistently enrolling, and her lyrics [...] are aptly accessible".[12] Writing for Beat Magazine, Bryget Chrisfield said that The Answer Is Always Yes was an "ebullient and infinitely relatable" listen.[13]

Charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 55

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lochrie . Conor . 31 January 2023 . Alex Lahey announces third album, The Answer Is Always Yes . 1 February 2023 . Tone Deaf . en-AU.
  2. Web site: Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards. Music Feeds. 21 September 2023. 24 September 2023.
  3. Web site: 2024 AIR Awards Nominees: Genesis Owusu, Cub Sport, RVG, Teen Jesus & More. The Music. 14 May 2024. 14 May 2024.
  4. Mims . Taylor . 19 May 2023 . Alex Lahey Talks the Hidden Positivity of Her 'The Answer is Always Yes' Album and the Need to 'Find the Zest for Life' . 20 May 2023 . . en-US.
  5. Web site: Robinson . Ellie . 31 August 2022 . Alex Lahey returns with confessional new single 'Congratulations', announces national tour . 1 February 2023 . . en-AU.
  6. Web site: Deville . Chris . 31 August 2022 . Alex Lahey Shares New Song "Congratulations": Listen . 1 February 2023 . Stereogum . en.
  7. Web site: Robinson . Ellie . 10 November 2022 . Alex Lahey shakes off her worries with catchy new single 'Shit Talking' . 1 February 2023 . NME . en-AU.
  8. Web site: Robinson . Ellie . 31 January 2023 . Alex Lahey shares fizzy new single 'Good Time', announces third album 'The Answer Is Always Yes' . 1 February 2023 . NME . en-AU.
  9. Web site: Fry . Courtney . 19 May 2023 . Alex Lahey announces dates for 2023 Australian tour . 20 May 2023 . . en-AU.
  10. Web site: Lahey . Alex . 21 September 2023 . this just in - AL has released a new song called 'Newsreader', taken from The Answer Is Always Yes (Expanded Edition) out October 6. more tunes to come. . 21 September 2023 . Instagram.
  11. Web site: 21 September 2023 . Newsreader – song and lyrics by Alex Lahey . 21 September 2023 . Spotify.
  12. Web site: Amen . John . 20 May 2023 . Alex Lahey: The Answer Is Always Yes Review - lighter cathartic palette . 20 May 2023 . . en-US.
  13. Web site: Chrisfied . Bryget . 19 May 2023 . Ebullient and infinitely relatable: Alex Lahey's The Answer Is Always Yes . 20 May 2023 . . en-AU.
  14. Web site: Farnsie makes it 20. Australian Recording Industry Association. 26 May 2023. 27 May 2023.

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