A solid album but you won't find the gold until the B-side.
Unsurprisingly, Alex Lahey’s debut album, The Best of Luck Club, is full to the brim with saturated and gritty guitar licks and backing beats that sound organic and rough enough to have just been lifted from a garage session. However, the strength of this theme may work to the detriment of the LP itself.
The opening four tracks are good… on their own. Each has the signature Lahey sound that launched her to the top of the Aussie rock scene – gritty, energetic and blaring – but this becomes overwhelming, or even boring, as the tracks melt into each other and the routine melodic schemes begin to sound like one hook on a carousel.
‘I Don’t Get Invited to Parties Anymore’ is an odd choice for opener; it feels as if she’s throwing the listener into the middle of a story. ‘Interior Demeanour’ would stand well alone, but in its present company, the tune is relatively forgettable.
Though hope may be lost, a light appears at the end of the first half of the album: ‘Unspoken History’ gives the album a breather by providing a much-needed change of pace. This one’s a heartfelt and tender exploration of a bygone relationship that neither party mention, but still hangs in the air. This tenderness causes it to become reminiscent of her 2017 triple j performance of ‘You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me’. The slower, more stripped back vibe suits Lahey and she should explore it more in upcoming albums, as ‘Unspoken History’ is a definite highlight of TBOLC.
The following final four tracks are wonderfully refreshing. ‘I Need To Move On’ slips slightly back towards the tired vibe of the first half of the LP, but the painfully relatable lyricisms and vocal delivery keep it crisp.
Overall, The Best of Luck Club feels like Lahey’s kiss goodbye to that period of life when everyone’s a little bit of a mess, and nobody really minds. The best tracks – ‘Unspoken History’, ‘Misery Guts’, and ‘I Want to Live With You’ – are a testament to Lahey’s songwriting and production skills; evoking memory trips, some serious head-banging, and an involuntary urge to hug your nearest friend. However, it’s a shame that you need to wade through four indistinguishable tracks to get to the gold.
