Alessi Rose is Delightfully Defenseless on Sophomore EP, 'for your validation'
- Abby Anderson
- Jan 17
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 3
Standout tracks: 'oh my,' 'IKYK'
Our favorites: 'start all over,' 'pretty world'
Release date: January 17, 2025
For fans of: Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, Lexi Jayde
Alessi Rose is rising to the occasion in a pop-music scene that is evolving to embrace imperfection and brutal honesty. The 22-year old Brit's sophomore EP For Your Validation, released on January 17 via AWAL Recordings, balances itself between demure bedroom-acoustic pop and flirty indie-rock. The 6-song project is the follow up to her 2024 debut EP, Rumination is Ritual.
Condescending and witty, Rose opens the project with 'oh my.' The track isn't an attention grabber, but rather an acoustic slow dance, luring you into this dreamily distressed world of For Your Validation. From the start, Alessi is charmingly blasé about both counterparts of her relationship showing up with the bare minimum. She even calls herself out, singing, "I've been loving him to pass the time."
Delightfully simplistic 'start all over' is a love letter to every cynical and skeptical part of pulling away from a relationship. It hurts, but it's freeing. It's uncertain, yet decisive. Co-written with frequent-Gracie Abrams collaborator Audrey Hobart, 'start all over' rings out with just enough dramatics to feel sincere. Over a warm acoustic line, Alessi sings, "Don't act like you don't know/There won't be a first move unless you're making it/I'm so go with the flow but/I'm gonna cut my hands off unless you're taking them."
Indie-rock 'IKYK' is a high point on the project, delectable with it's "la, la, la" hook and poppy vocal layering. A coming-of-age film in song form, Rose's husky voice deplores, "I know you know/you're pretty/Everybody wants you/I'm part of that crowd." And despite her flaws, Alessi won't stop wishing to feel loved in 'pretty world.' Backed by a twinkly, synth-y keyboard line and syncopated drum pattern, Rose's most yearning vocals sing, "When I'm kicking myself/Making it worse/You're here to tell me/There's more that I deserve." Illustrating the ease of escape into words of affirmation, she dances around just how enlightening it can feel to just be understood, even if it's only for a moment.
For Your Validation closer 'don't ask questions' leaves the door open, waiting for more. Softly heartwrenching and romantically chaotic, Alessi sings, "I'll dig up all your skeletons/When it only makes me sadder/Running circles in my head again/I'll assume the worst has happened." This is the brand that Alessi Rose is building that has led to her ever-rising popularity; she's a voice for those who feel deeply but aren't afraid to be honest about just how convoluted their thought processes are when working out their feelings. So Alessi, to you we say this, "The more I know you/The more this matters." Stream For Your Validation here.
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