London-based singer-songwriter Olly Alexander, formerly of Years & Years, begins a new chapter with "Polari," his first solo album. The album is a 13-track, 40-minute journey through bold pop production, emotional contrasts, romantic longing, and a deeper connection to queer history. "Polari" was produced by Danny L Harle and Finn Keane, and Alexander and Harle wrote each track. It feels like a personal exploration, but also an invitation to listen without hiding.
The album's title comes from Polari, a coded slang that used to be a secret language for homosexuals and other marginalized groups. For Alexander, learning the history of that place was part of a larger journey of understanding his own identity. The album has a special emotional base, a feeling of looking back as you look forward.
That spirit is immediately set with the opening title track. Polari is bold and unconventional, an introduction to the world of the album, but also a confrontation with the weight of outside opinion. From there, "Cupid's Bow" rides the wave of a new relationship's giddying beginnings, and "I Know" makes a game of the experience of being defined by others, and of defining oneself.
The first half of the album is full of longing, doubt, and the complicated feelings of love. "Shadow Of Love" is a song about desperation, "Make Me A Man" is a playful Garden of Eden song with humor and double entendres. Alexander's UK Eurovision 2024 entry "Dizzy" fits perfectly into the album's 80s-inspired journey.
"Archangel" is hopeful, unapologetically feeling, and "Miss You So Much" turns loneliness in a failing relationship into a purposefully happy-sounding pop song. "When We Kiss" takes those emotional tensions out to the club and builds to a full-bodied crescendo. "Whisper In The Waves" is more laid-back and leaves room to breathe, inspired by the Greek myth of Calypso and Odysseus. Closing songs "Beautiful," "Heal You," and "Language" complete the album's 13-song arc.
"Polari" in the end is a record about searching, feeling, remembering, and not hiding the more complicated parts of love. It turns personal history and queer cultural references into a vivid pop environment, a compelling new beginning for Alexander as a solo artist.
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