Release Date: 7 February 2025
Song Count: 13
Duration: 40 minutes, 23 seconds
Rating: 7.2/10
Description:
Flashy and queer becomes the name of the game as we today take a look at famous British singer and performer Olly Alexander, well-known worldwide for formerly being a member of Years & Years as well as later representing his home country in 2024's Eurovision Song Contest in an entry that was (at least, at first) considered the equivalent of a hydrogen bomb being set off from the nation. Following this additional surge of success and recognition, he released his debut album just over a year ago as of writing, named Polari - coming from the historic sociolect used amongst gay men in the UK. This background and the many different interpretations in which it falls under is a great influence not only in the album's lyrical contents, but its general sound as well, as becomes clear from the get-go.
Olly's signature voice echoes over beats that combine synth pop reminiscent of the classic sound that dominated the charts of the 80's and 90's with a modernised, electronic touch as the tracks follow a tried-and-true structure that defines the album's general sound. Intricate melodies stringing along and powerful basslines and accompanying sounds making up the rest of the instrumental composition lead the way for the singing and lyricism to shine through, with the song thematising the concepts of love, passion and the meaning of life. The energy radiated by the album as a whole fully captures Olly Alexander's public personality in all of its forms, serving as an amalgamation between his inspirations and original ideas, and it ends up rounding out to a solid collection of avant-garde pop music.
Though far from outright impressive territory, Polari manages to serve up several well-crafted and catchy tracks that implement interesting sonical ideas into their formula whilst staying at a widely accessible sound tapestry. It is an album with admirable qualities sprinkled all around from vocal prowess from Alexander to the backing beats and instrumentals paving the way, and it is decorated with plenty of colour and fun ideas every step of the way. Overall quite a good record from a well-established artist putting his name back in the talks of the public and starting a new discographical era for himself.