Elevator Pitch: Alex Warren

It’s both a blessing and a curse to watch your favourite album go viral. While it’s amazing to see this artist get the appreciation they have always deserved, the algorithm seems to focus on two songs and ignore the other masterpieces. In my case, watching ‘Ordinary’ by Alex Warren top the charts while his other lyrics go underappreciated has been a special kind of pain.

The acoustic guitar, paired with the rich melody of his voice, offers the song a heartfelt quality that makes it all the more beautiful

One of the best features of ‘Ordinary’ is the romantic lyrics, inspired by the singer’s wife; however, the neglect of ‘Catch My Breath’, which is a million times more romantic, is appalling! The song chronicles how Warren met his now wife, Kouvr, from the first time he heard her name to the period of their life when they were both living out of his car. The acoustic guitar paired with the rich melody of his voice offers the song a heartfelt quality that makes it all the more beautiful. A personal favourite of mine is ‘Heaven Without You’. The assertion that he would choose his wife over eternal paradise because she is his idea of paradise may just be one of the sweetest things I have ever heard. The way the backing vocals kick in during the chorus makes it sound, for lack of a better word, heavenly.

Warren still finds time to produce an upbeat track that keeps everyone on their toes

However, the album isn’t just a love letter to his wife; it’s an exploration of his grief and the unpicking of his complex feelings towards his parents. The song ‘Eternity’ has recently been taking the internet by storm (yes, the ‘BookTok’ edits have made me cry), and rightfully so. The soulfulness of his voice paired with the haunting quality of the instrumental perfectly encapsulates the sense of loneliness that marks grief.

This being said, ‘First Time On Earth’ deserves more flowers. This track explores how grief doesn’t erase resentment, but also how you can often forget that your parents are complex people too, battling their own demons, sometimes winning, but sometimes losing in a way that makes us all human. Warren’s introspective view on his grief is also what sets his album apart from others on the market, as seen through the title track ‘You’ll Be Alright Kid’. He details the human tendency to punish yourself during hard times and offers the enduring message that not only will it get better, but you will get stronger too.

Warren boasts his ability to reflect every area of his life in his art while still connecting with his listeners

This album is not lacking in versatility as, among the poignant tracks of grief and the heartwarming romance that oozes out of his melodies, Warren still finds time to produce an upbeat track that keeps everyone on their toes. From the palpable sting of betrayal in ‘Burning Down’, to the unashamed pride in ‘You Can’t Stop This’, Warren boasts his ability to reflect every area of his life in his art while still connecting with his listeners.

So, if you’re looking for an album to make you cry, laugh, and dance in the span of an hour and three minutes, then You’ll Be Alright Kid is the album for you!