''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.
At the
2023 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated for
Best Adult Contemporary Album.
At the
AIR Awards of 2024, the album was nominated for Best Independent Rock Album or EP.
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
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
tracks and her ever-present sense of humor".
''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
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
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". She also hinted that the single was "the first taste in a long-awaited new chapter". On 11 November, second single "Shit Talkin'" was released. The record was officially announced on 1 February 2023 following the premiere of third single, "Good Time", on
Triple J.
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.
On 21 September 2023, Lahey announced an
expanded edition of ''The Answer Is Always Yes'', which released on 6 October. A new single, "Newsreader", was issued alongside the news.
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".
Writing for ''
Beat Magazine'', Bryget Chrisfield said that ''The Answer Is Always Yes'' was an "ebullient and infinitely relatable" listen.
Track listing
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Answer Is Always Yes
2023 albums
Alex Lahey albums
Liberation Music albums