Alex Lahey - The Best of Luck Club

Since releasing her debut EP B-Grade University in the summer of 2016, Alex Lahey has quickly become one of the most fascinating voices in modern rock. The Melbourne-bred singer-songwriter has made a name for herself by pulling from her biting insecurities and using them as fodder to craft hooky rock jams, with ripping power chords and quirky pop culture references aplenty. Following the sharp and poignant I Love You Like a Brother, Lahey’s sophomore effort displays fierce maturity in both her personal growth and the expansion of her intimate sound. Simply put, The Best of Luck Club kicks ass.

Much of the album seems to be deliberately churning out material for a high energy live set. Lahey opens with a hearty progression of punchy tracks meant to get the blood flowing. Be it the hard-hitting fast-slow pop-rock of “I Don’t Get Invited to Parties Anymore,” the anthemic arena resonance of “Am I Doing it Right?,” the spastic, grungy “Interior Demeanour,” or the breezy summer banger “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself,” The Best of Luck Club is primed with catchy tracks ready to be shown off on the festival circuit. By the time Lahey gets to the startling release of anger in the skater punk tune “Misery Guts,” we are screaming along with her.

But the album isn’t afraid to show off its lighter side as well, even indulging in 80s synthwave cheese. The delicate corners of The Best of Luck Club are some of its most impressive, from the expansive and emotive ballad “Unspoken History” to the upbeat piano-heavy pop number “Isabella.” It’s the mid-tempo moments that Lahey undeniably nails, as with the groovy, swaying tale of unrequited love “Black RMs” and slick, tender earworm “I Want to Live With You.” And some tracks encompass a wide array of emotions, like the genre-defying “I Need to Move On” which sounds like a lost Killers single. Lahey is capable of a tremendous tonal range, and she isn’t afraid to show it.

The Best of Luck Club feels like a much needed, introspective release of emotion. It’s a lethargic and open-veined journey, but one that is also utterly enjoyable from start to finish, stuffed to the gills with catchy, soon-to-be college radio standards. This is the sound of a guitar whiz who came of age during the punk-pop boom of the early 00s and put her own spin on the Hot Topic generation, and the result is oh so satisfying. We are incredibly lucky to have Alex Lahey on the airwaves.