AndyLP has offered a treatise on the trials of young adulthood with his eclectic debut album, ‘RED FLAGS’.
Spanning eight tracks, the project sees the Melbourne musician and performer traverse boundaries in both sound and songwriting, with a broad sonic palate that traces him from acoustic pop to heavy rock.
RED FLAGS opens with the warm acoustic guitar melodies of ‘1’, a folk-pop cut that brims with a sunlit feel.
There’s a simple, bedroom-pop quality to the album opener, which makes use of catchy rhythms and glittery instrumentation to deliver a love-drunk, feel-good ditty.
Later, subtle horn flourishes bring a regal sound to the track, as AndyLP harmonises with female backing vocals so heavenly they might just touch the skies.
Despite moving effortlessly, with a brisk runtime that never overstays it’s welcome, ‘1’ manages to make room for heartfelt and tender lyrics about the crazed giddiness that comes with falling in love.
“I think you’re beautiful,” he gushes on the climactic pre-chorus, “I think we’re both going out of our minds.”
There’s something to be said for the infectious earnestness of AndyLP’s songwriting here. Sometimes, romance isn’t a battlefield or a hurdle, but simply something to revel in and celebrate.
I guess I shouldn’t speak too soon, though, since ‘Best Friend’ flows like a vexed break-up track and sees AndyLP find comfort in his ex’s friend.
Fittingly for this more impassioned cut, he sings atop rock-pop production brimming with clashing cymbals, punchy drum rolls and a more sneering vocal delivery.
It’s a testament to AndyLP’s versatility that he’s able to switch gears with such finesse, while maintaining his incisive penmanship.
“I’m still talking to her best friend,” he sings on the kind of catchy chorus that’s destined for earworm status, “she always answers when I message.”
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After ticking off revenge sex from his to-do list of young adulthood, AndyLP taps Harriet Braat for the country-leaning ballad ‘Butterflies’.
Here, he endures the comedown of a breakup with melancholic guitars and tender reflections on heartbreak. Braat offers a call-and-response verse as the pair dip into folk stylings and lament their decisions in a relationship.
Later, on ‘Kiss Her’, AndyLP delivers the album’s clearest foray into balladry, accompanied by finger-picked guitars and swelling synths.
The track is big on atmosphere, adorned in airy harmonies and relatively sparse production that allows AndyLP’s vulnerability to pull focus.
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It’s the album’s most heartbreaking track, as AndyLP muses on missing a former partner and the pain of reminiscing.
Elsewhere, ‘Morningstar’ takes listeners back to “the summer of 2017,” — recounting a meet-cute that launches a romantic odyssey soundtracked by catchy country-pop flairs — before the title track ushers in a jazz-rock feel.
Here, AndyLP sings in brooding vocals atop groovy basslines, before a punchy chorus lays bare all the red flags he notices in a toxic flame.
It’s perhaps the album’s most relatable track, with AndyLP painting a portrait of a partner who has hidden phones and mysterious texts, but still proves too irresistible to let go.
AndyLP’s efforts culminate on ‘Sweat’, a rock-opera style closer adorned in striking bass and screechy guitars that sees him submit to a partner who is shy everywhere but the bedroom and leaves him “gasping for air.”
It’s a fitting closer to this blissfully diverse pop album that heralds AndyLP as a rising voice to watch
Listen to AndyLP’s debut album ‘RED FLAGS’ below.
