ALEIA IS JUST GETTING STARTED WITH HER HARROWING DEBUT EP ‘PUBLIC HUMILIATION’
Australian songwriter ALEIA navigates the regression, rage, and realizations that come from ending a toxic relationship in her new EP, ‘Public Humiliation.’
Throughout the five tracks, one thing rings loud and clear – her vocals are clear, bright, and full of stars, and she chronicles the death of a toxic relationship. She cries out to both heaven and hell to spare her from the pain of this experience. Through her authentic and impassioned performance, ALEIA delivers soul-crushing alt-pop in her debut EP.
The EP starts with “Had Your Fun,” which is guided by the sounds of a melodic piano paired with a steady drum beat. Her beautiful alto singing voice produces a moody, wispy sound that entrenches you in her mindset. “At least you had your fun.” The progression with the instrumentals was clever and blissful.
Listeners can already sense the emotional undertaking of this project – a catastrophic relationship that is doomed. “Had Your Fun” explores the other party, explaining that he is using decoys to avoid accountability, whether that be through “smokebombs,” “gunshots,” or events. At this point, she still has empathy for him, stating that she can “tell that he’s trying.” It reads as a last-ditch effort to see past certain things, but the red flags are finally shining through the rose colored glasses.
The second track, “Pretty When I Cry,” immediately coincides with its predecessor, with the open line, “you don’t like to see me having fun.” It reveals the growing contradiction between these two people, as he was allowed to toy around, but she wasn’t afforded the same luxury. Lyrically, this track is amazing. Clever writing allows for some truly vulnerable moments to emerge. It’s a scene of purposeful heartbreak; he is making her cry on purpose because she is “pretty when she cries.” Or, at least that’s what she tells herself.
It’s almost as if she’s talking herself through justification of his actions through word choice, like “lucky for me,” “that’s why.” It can almost be read as sarcastic, as if the man was obviously treating her terribly just because he felt like it. She switches it up to acoustic goodness at some point, with raw vocals and country influences that solidify it as a 10/10 crying song. Shout out to one of my favorite lines from the whole EP: “He makes me small just to make him feel big,” because damn.
“Public Humiliation," the title track, is the midpoint for the EP. The moments of previous questioning led to a breakthrough, which is perfectly demonstrated in this song. It keeps up this slower rhythm at first ,yet ups the word progression to a swifter pace. All of a sudden, the song explodes into an eye-rolling ecstasy of sound. Her words, “I can’t change if I stay here in this pain out of fear,” are haunting and echo experiences of relationship demise. The added synths give it that psychedelic, transformative feel that is ideal for a song with this magnitude of discovery.
The fourth track and freshest release, “Holy Water,” is a cinematic and stunning song that will tug at your heartstrings. Fans of Ethel Cain’s moody motifs and Chappell Roan’s vocals will adore this heartbreaking track. With religious motifs displayed from preaching, holy water, and the devil, one can only assume she is freeing herself from the relationship’s shackles. He is the “devil,” attempting to drink from the Holy Water to cleanse himself from his wrongdoings. He desperately wants to clear his conscience, but she will always know what he did to her. Grabbing onto church themes, she said, “You miss how pure it all was. I think you just miss my innocence.” Her innocence was before she was aware that what he was doing was wrong. When he had control. The song is undoubtedly the singer's strongest vocal performance, and the echoes from her quivering voice transport listeners to the moment.
To end it off, a live version of “Holy Water” was included as the fifth track. It takes the same emotion from the studio track but heightens the feels. With a backing choir, it amplifies the broken-hearted church feel tenfold. These and noise-canceling headphones are the perfect combination.
ALEIA is a jack of many trades and knows exactly when to pull out the perfect idea. ‘Public Humiliation’ is an emotional rollercoaster that tells the story of heartbreak and resilience through five power ballads, sarcasm, and incredibly unique vocals. This debut serves as a promising glimpse into ALEIA’s future, and we’ll be closely following what’s next.
