Alexandra Leaving - ‘An Exorcise In Anger’ Review: A cathartic release of pent-up female rage
An Exorcise in Anger is a solid debut, and sets the direction for a new alt-rock star ready to put her foot down and claim a top spot one day.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Credit: Amy McDermott 📸
London-based songwriter Alexandra Leaving dips her toes into female rage, broken relationships and growing up on radio-backed debut EP ‘An Exorcise in Anger’.
Released on 29th May 2024, the four-song extended play was produced by Michael Smith (Wolf Alice, Slaney Bay) at RYP Recording Studios and mastered by Andy Baldwin at Metropolis Studios.
Hailing from Shropshire, Alexandra Leaving draws influences from Wolf Alice, Mitski, The Kills and PJ Harvey. In less than a year, she’s accrued over 65,000 streams and garnered support from the BBC, Radio X, Amazing Radio and Apple Music.
EP-opener and lead single Bite is bursting with powerful guitars, sprawling vocals and dark storytelling. It’s an anthem for escapism, whatever that may entail for you and your inner world. You can hear drops of Wolf Alice soaked into the core, which is Smith’s direction trickling in. While catchy, we found ourselves craving an angsty finale. Perhaps this was the intention, ending with ‘You’ll never ever see me bite’.
The second lead single Pretty Suspicious takes a much more theatrical approach, with dramatic hooks and glistening sound effects sprinkled throughout. It’s certainly more pop-influenced than Bite, but interestingly has elements of country too.
Hardball and These Scars, which make up the second half, are arguably the best. Despite not being singles, these tracks feel much stronger.
Hardball dances around chaotic violence and lusting after a toxic lover, featuring Killers-esque guitars and storming drums. The track builds throughout and is the finest display of vocals across the whole EP, giving Leaving a chance to shine.
Our favourite is These Scars, and fittingly closes the piece as a whole. It pulls together every sound but takes it to a new level, and musically nails the sexy-fuzzy style that makes ‘bad-ass’ tunes. Nothing But Thieves, Crawlers and Wolf Alice (again) come to mind. The shimmering chorus contrasts wildly with the dark build-up. It’s on this track her self-described cloud rock is most noticeable.
We found ourselves enjoying the verses of this one much more than the chorus, there’s such a dark and twisted feel. It’s a sentiment we found throughout the whole EP, preferring the shadows to the light. To get a deeper look behind the EP, we spoke with the artist herself for a few quick questions:
:: Q&A ::
1. If you were to pick one of these tracks people have to listen to, which would it be?
“Ooh, tough question! I’d choose ‘Bite’. I literally screamed some of those vocal lines in the studio and my band brought so much fierce energy to this song. It’s the EP opener and I think it sets the tone.”
2. You've got a lot of big influences, but how did Alexandra Leaving come about?
“I started Alexandra Leaving a year ago. It’s actually the name of a Leonard Cohen song (sorry Leonard fans aha). I jumped in the deep end and quit my full-time job to do music and start this new project. I love 90s rock and female artists like Alanis, The Kills, Hole, and Sinéad O Connor, it was empowering for me to wipe the slate clean and I took a lot of strength from these women in music.”
3. What was it like working with Michael Smith?
“Michael’s a legend. I remember meeting him for a pint in Notting Hill before we recorded and we just clicked, sharing a love of the same artists. Trust is a huge thing between an artist and a producer and Michael guided me through this process. He had this bigger-picture vision and breathed some real magic into the EP.”
:: Round-Up ::
An Exorcise in Anger is a solid debut, and sets the direction for a new alt-rock star ready to put her foot down and claim a top spot one day. Full of inner rage, the cathartic nature of these tracks will have you driving away all of your own evils in the process.
Fans of Nessa Barett and Crawlers will find solace in discovering Alexandra Leaving. There’s an unfiltered intensity of emotion bottled up, just waiting to smash.
As pent-up as it was, it felt restrained at times, which is likely a signal to catch one of her live sets. Which you can do, with an upcoming EP Release Show on June 7th at The Waiting Room, London.
Support the EP with a limited-time cassette tape.
Now, it’s your turn. Give it a spin, and tell us what you think on Insta or X.
Rating: 7/10
Thank you for reading, why not stick around? 🖤
