Following her hometown appearance at Liverpool’s Sound City, a veritable checklist of music’s next rising stars, Katy Alex is keeping the momentum up with “Maliblues”. With barely a handful of songs released so far, the track is a mission statement that shines with promise.
Beginning with immediately expansive instrumentals, Alex transports us from her local Merseyside to the sprawl of the States through glittering synths that wouldn’t feel out of place on a MUNA tune and lyrics laden with a wealth of luxury and emotion.
“Maliblues” is kept close to home, though, by the subtlety of her vocals – this may sonically be a quintessential pop tune, but as Katy murmurs “diamonds don’t fill holes in the heart”, her understated tone only serves to heighten the moody subject matter.
She’s singing about a lofty, idealised Malibu, but her voice still feels authentic thanks to the unpretentious sharpness of her lyricism. Yes, she namechecks Prada and Lamborghini, but her seemingly effortless knack for combining serene, sunny melodies with quiet melancholy turns them into symbols of loneliness.
“‘Maliblues’ was born from a feeling I couldn’t shake whilst on holiday in LA a couple of years ago,” shares Alex. “I went out to California for a week with an old friend on a private jet (not kidding) and ended up in a mansion in Malibu having a BBQ. I know that sounds made up, or maybe even dream-like, and trust me for a little scouse girl it really was a dream...on paper."
"Although everyone around me was completely taken in by the glitz and glamour of a Billionaire Cali lifestyle, I just couldn’t get rid of this sadness deep down. I felt homesick, I missed my family and friends, and it really just confirmed for me how money can’t buy true happiness, having the people you love around you can.”
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