Indie-rocker Alyssa Joseph released her raw EP “alive” today on all streaming platforms. Described as a “gut punch” of an EP, “alive” takes us on a journey through the vulnerable psyche of a young woman transitioning into adulthood. The guitar is distorted and the drums hit hard, but there is a level of emotional depth in this piece of work that transcends the indie rock genre. It’s not always easy finding one’s niche in the Nashville Music Scene, especially as a woman that is not blonde, size-zero, and a typical pop-country singer, but Alyssa Joseph maybe Nashville’s new alt-rocker girl. To quote Joseph herself, “this EP is an honest, raw, and frank look into the nitty-gritty of life’s experiences told from the perspective of a 27-something-year-old finding her way in life.”
Each song on “alive” tells a different story from Alyssa Joseph’s personal experience. “sadboy” pokes fun of some of the men that Joseph has dated, “the kind that is ultra-sensitive but not sensitive enough to text you back”. Throughout the song Joseph comes to terms with the fact that she’s growing out of liking the indie, sensitive version of a “bad boy”. “easier” calls out herself and a former partner in a relationship that no longer works but both are too complacent to exit, taking the “easier” option over the healthy one. This song is accompanied by a deliciously creative lyric video where the lyrics are made entirely out of breakfast food!
“leaning” describes the period after she graduated college when she was forced to move back home with her parents in New Jersey and face judgment from her peers while she longed to move to Nashville, as she candidly croons “all my money goes to student loans and the god-damn government”. Finally, her song “alive” takes on full-blown existentialism as she gazes up at the stars and realizes she has no idea what her purpose on this earth is, but maybe that’s okay. The whole EP takes us on a rollercoaster of a journey, capturing the insecurities and angst that many millennials face. “I realized that adults don’t know what they’re doing most of the time,” Joseph says. “We’re all just flying by the seat of our pants.”
The story has a happy ending– she moved to Nashville and is killing it in the music scene. She has toured through Texas and up and down the Northeast, playing at Sofar Sound shows in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Louisville. She has made a conscious effort to find a diverse team to work with in Nashville and not just cis, white men– Kate Haldrup (drummer for Lily Hiatt) mixed the EP and Raelynn Janicke of Infrasonic Sound did the mastering. Joseph has been open about the struggles of being a plus-sized woman in the music industry, saying “as a 17 and 18-year-old I told myself I could not be an artist because I didn’t look a certain way. It took years of growing my self-confidence and seeing trailblazers like Adele and Lizzo to feel confident in myself and have the courage to break the mold.” Alyssa Joseph’s heartfelt EP “alive” cements her as a singer-songwriter to look out for, one that meshes vulnerable and intimate moments with gritty, angsty rock.
You can learn more about Alyssa Joseph by visiting www.alyssajoseph.com.
