Compact Disc (CD), Vinyl, Vinyl LP
“The Best of Luck Club,” the second record from Australian multi-instrumentalist Alex Lahey follows a similar m.o. as her debut “I Love You Like A Brother,” pairing an optimistic sound with decidedly less optimistic lyrics. Darkness is always close by in her songs, but Lahey tames her demons with buoyant melodies and thundering power chords.
The album’s explosive opener, “I Don’t Get Invited To Parties Anymore,” is a boisterous look at the tension between fading youth and adult responsibility. “Has my fun gone out the door?” she glumly asks at one point. She answers her own question shortly thereafter, by way of the roaring power pop of “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself,” where she sings, “You haven’t had a day off in weeks / Your voice is shaking when you speak / It might not be my place to help / But don’t be so hard on yourself.” By maintaining this tender sense of conviction throughout, Lahey sends the album’s arc with a bit of hope. It’s an album about feeling the lowest of the lows, but also celebrating the highest of the highs. Songs like “Am I Doing It Right” and “Interior Demeanour” scan as letters Lahey has written to herself, offering both determination and reassurance. When life gets dark, it takes a certain kind of zeal to see through the fog—and zeal is something The Best of Luck Club has in spades.
