Alex Ray on her new EP MESSY

Written by Anna

“I'll be the one who breaks your heart,” sings Alex Ray in the first track, “WASTED"”, of her newest EP MESSY. We listened to it and asked her some questions about it, but before we dive in, a little about Alex. Alex Ray is an indie artist and former attorney based in Nashville. She began her music career after years away from creating and also runs a YouTube channel where she reviews music. Her work blends personal experiences and emotional storytelling with pop-rock and punk sounds. The visual cover of her EP perfectly represents the artist herself : smeared lipstick, wet hair, and tattoos embody her strong persona, reflecting an independent woman fully confident in herself.

It starts off with "WASTED", a smooth, laid-back track with a catchy pop beat. "what do you wanna do when I'm the one who leaves?" is delivered casually at first, before it dives into a powerful chorus that immediately grabs attention. The track perfectly sets the tone for the EP, balancing introspection with a polished pop sensibility.

The following song, "DRIVER'S SIDE", builds tension gradually with electric guitar riffs that transition from calm to explosive. 

Alex Ray: "‘DRIVER'S SIDE’, which is the last single we just released, is my favorite for like feeling confident, you know, feeling a little sexy."

The song captures that exact energy. It's impossible not to feel empowered while listening.

Maybe you can tell us more about your song Driver's Side?

AR: "’DRIVER'S SIDE’ is about when I was 20 years old, I moved to Nashville. And I met this guy and shocker, beautiful starting point, and fell in love with him immediately. Like I saw him and was like, I will stop at nothing. He must be mine. I didn't know he was coming off the tail end of an engagement. Like they were like looking at wedding venues, but also like falling apart at the same time. And so like, I was definitely the toxic one. Like I was the bad guy. I was like this other woman, I was wrong. I was incorrect."

The song’s progression mirrors the story. Very playful, confident, yet layered with vulnerability, perfectly illustrating the duality of desire and guilt.

Next comes "yours to use", the only track titled in lowercase. Its soft melody and airy vocals provide a delicate contrast to the more energetic tracks. The pop sensibility is front and center, giving off a light, almost whimsical vibe. It’s the perfect “girly anthem,” breezy and catchy, ideal for anyone with a classic pop playlist.

Then comes "BOY YOU AIN’T", the bold, unapologetic track with high-energy production and strong attitude, which we previously also reviewing in our online blog

AR: "All my songs are about something in my life, like some, some event in my life. And ‘BOY YOU AIN’T' was about, I dated this guy, classic, good starting point. And I was very, very in love with him. I was very infatuated by him. And as it kind of all wrapped up and like the fog of like being in love and being smitten kind of lifted, I was like, wow, he kind of actually sucks. He's kind of the worst person that I've ever known. Um, and he was like egotistical and he was so self-involved and he thought all of his ideas were the best ideas ever. And I was just kind of this little pawn that he used to get what he wanted. And so I, we kind of ended in this blowout fight and I got done and I was like, I'm not even sad. Like he sucked. He was the worst. And so say when my collaborator came, we had a writing session, and we wrote 'BOY YOU AIN'T' as a way to list everything I hated about him and craft the lyrics."

The song definitely delivers explosive “bad bitch” energy with every beat. It is undeniably memorable. The image of a realizing how bad your ex actually was and how much you didn’t deserve him, is definitely something so powerful, which Alex managed to bring across her song.

Finally, the title track, "MESSY", rounds up the EP. It underlines the allover vibes and meaning.

AR: "'MESSY' ended up being one of the songs that me and my collaborator wrote and it kind of just sat on the shelf for a little bit. I knew we loved the song, but I knew the production had evolved. Not that it wasn't great, but I gravitated towards a more pop rock kind of production. And so when I met my current manager and started putting together my current team, I showed them 'MESSY' and they were like, you literally have to release the song. It's not negotiable. 'MESSY' is all about revealing your vices and revealing all the dark parts of you that you're embarrassed to talk about. And so we kind of just filled in the blanks around that whole concept with other songs on the EP."

The track is raw, honest, and perfectly matches Alex’s deep, resonant voice. Dark yet empowering, it captures the duality of vulnerability and strength and the EP’s thematic heart.

If you had to choose one song from the EP that you could recommend to anyone, literally someone goes and asks you what's the one song I should listen to? Which one would you say?

AR: "This is so generic, but probably 'MESSY'. Left to my own devices, I write about really dark stuff. Like I write about my mental health, my bipolar, like times that I really were was on my last leg, like the saddest things that you've ever heard in your entire life. Because that's how I feel better. And then I'm like, cool, I can start getting over it now. You know, I think the EP has a lot of moments that are putting on facades. So like, boy, you ain't like the angry scorned woman, I'm so much better than you. You know, 'DRIVER'S SIDE', I'm sexy, I'm a siren, I get what I want. And those are definitely parts of myself and people that I've been at some point in my life. But I think overall, who I am as a person is messy. Like, I'm literally messy. It talks about like, all these things I actually struggle with that I would never tell the internet that I actually struggle with. And it's actually vulnerable, like it's hard, like I'm nervous about that song releasing."

Alex's EP is structured like a journey from heartbreak and reflection to self-discovery and empowerment. Each track brings a unique mood, yet together they tell a story of strength, confidence, and authenticity.

This is a bold, honest, and highly polished EP. It’s loud, catchy, and empowering, so perfect for blasting in the car or listening when you need a boost