'Polari' is a Solid Debut from Olly Alexander
Earlier this month, Olly Alexander (the vocalist of Years & Years) released his debut solo album 'Polari'. Alexander was once a universally beloved British musician, right from his breakout with Year & Years in the early '10s, however, his participation in the 2024 Eurovision contest alienated many fans (as musicians and viewers alike boycotted the contest in favour of their pro-Palestine views). So, this is the social standpoint that Alexander released his debut to, and international politics and morals aside, this was a pretty good debut. It may be one of the best mainstream electronic albums to come out in the past year, up there with the likes of FKA twigs 'EUSEXUA', '25 is shaping up to be a very good year for the electroheads.
Right from the get-go, the opening track 'Polari' has a lot going on, drenched in a cyber-punky, synth-heavy electronica. 'Cupid's Bow' is catchy, plain and simple, an ode to the late '90s and early '00s trance/house for sure (Gen X ravers will eat this right up). Jungle rave drenched in deep bass and jangly synths features on the track 'I Know', and 'Shadow Of Love' has an Eastern European, eerie, post-punk sound to it and some Jackson-esque vocals. I struggled with 'Make Me A Man', it was sort of weird and had me wondering, is this an electronic or a folk track? Am I a man, or am I a muppet? Am I listening to Kidz Bop? Yet, 'Dizzy' saved the day, and the spoken verse at the end was very brat, very polari. Industrial, warehouse ravecore appears on 'Archangel', and 'Miss You So Much' wasn't much different than the others. However, 'Whisper In The Waves' brought us right back to that cold-wavey Eastern European post-punk sound, which is a bit of me. 'Beautiful' transported me to the early '10s, and its obsession with nightcore remixes, and 'Heal You' did not work for me whatsoever, background noise. The album closes with 'Language', which was the perfect ending, very industrial sounding, hyper-poppy, very SOPHIE.
Overall, thirteen tracks may have been on the longer side, and certain tracks could have been omitted in favour of making the album flow better, but this is a solid debut from Alexander.
