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Alex Lahey on the importance of self-care: "This isn’t a 24-hour party, nor should it be"

Melbourne-based songwriter Alex Lahey is back with her second album, ‘The Best of Luck Club’.

Alex Lahey has good reason to be excited. Her second album ‘The Best of Luck Club’ is out this month, and it’s brimming full of earnest, punky, alternative rock.

"I tried to deviate from things that I’d done before" Alex Lahey While Alex's lyrics deal with an element of self-doubt, the music they’re set to is growing in confidence, with producer Catherine Marks (St Vincent, The Big Moon) encouraging the Melbourne-born singer to shake up her usual formula.

“I tried to deviate from things that I’d done before; find different song structures, tried to play in different keys, tunings, different styles. I just want to do different things. I would hope that every record that I make and that I put out is different from the last one, otherwise, why would I keep making new music? I have my comfort zones, but I don’t feel restricted to them.

With Marks also originating from Melbourne, it made sense for the two to convene there to lay down the record. “The Australian dollar is really shit, so yeah, it was way more cost effective. The pound just fucks us!”

“I feel Nashville is way more diverse than people give it credit for,” Alex argues. “And there’s a great DIY punk scene there that no one talks about. Three of my favourite musicians of all time are based there: Julien Baker, all of Paramore and Alicia from Bully. Alicia actually put me up for part of my time there, which was really kind. I felt really inspired by that.

"Nashville is way more diverse than people give it credit for" Alex Lahey During time back at home in Melbourne between tours, Alex also took the opportunity to attend therapy after a painful breakup.

“Just taking five minutes of your day to get out of the world and do a little bit of mental recovery, it goes a long way,” Alex says of trying to practice self-care while on a hectic touring schedule. “Being conscious of it is the first step. Yeah, the job is weird, there’s such weird routines or lack thereof, and the first step is to be conscious of that.

A wise decision, that section transforms a solid punk-rocker into a transcendental moment of E-Street magnificence. While Alex is fond of that solo, she doesn’t necessarily agree when we put it to her, that’s its best this century.

“Fuck off, man! It’s ok; it’s not the best.” Either way, after years of touring her debut Lahey is ready to embark on a new chapter with a new band, new sounds and re-energised to take on the world. Here’s wishing you the best of luck, Alex.

Taken from the June issue of Dork. Alex Lahey's album 'The Best of Luck Club' is out now.

Words: Dillon Eastoe

Before recording the album in Melbourne, Alex took a week to visit Nashville and soak up some songwriting inspiration. Why there? “Because I like the TV show, and because why wouldn’t you?”

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