Alex Ray "MESSY" EP Review
- Magda Kanecka
- Oct 21, 2025
- 3 min read
Magda Kanecka | October 2025
Upon single releases such as “Boy You Ain’t” and “Driver’s Side,” Nashville’s alt-pop star Alex Ray has finally released her debut EP, “MESSY”, on 17 October.
Initially starting her singing career on YouTube, Alex has caught the attention of many, with listeners around the world patiently anticipating her debut EP.
My personal favourite track, “WASTED,” reflects on vulnerability in relationships: from secrecy to euphoria – all disguised under notable vocals, especially in the bridge.
“God I love wasting your time,” Ray tells us in the song’s final line, but I guarantee that listening to this song is no waste. Upon the first listen, I did not realise the deeper meaning of this track, and I thought it would be a fun, rather pop-influenced, unserious tune – but the layered production of “WASTED,” along with the heartfelt execution, did not disappoint.
Track two, “DRIVER’S SIDE,” is angsty, catchy, and emotional. I love the rhythm maintained throughout the song, and I think it encapsulates Alex Ray’s core sound perfectly. The most notable part, to me, is the build-up from the bridge to the final chorus – it expresses the rapid change in emotions and, in Ray’s words, it is about “pretending you’re in control while quietly losing it.”
“yours to use” – the only song not capitalised on the track list, describes an unstable relationship and the impacts this has on one’s mental health.
As an artist, Alex Ray has been widely outspoken about mental health and themes of chaos, mania, and instability in her music. “yours to use” is giving yourself up for another person, even if this is not immediately reciprocated to the same extent.
The guitars in the background shine throughout the song, and the opening lines, “I can see it now, in the way you move / How you slide your finger down through my belt loops / How I say your name, like a church choir, ”make this one of Alex’s most vulnerable tracks on the EP, right after the title track “MESSY.”
We’ve heard “BOY YOU AIN’T” before the EP’s release, and to this moment, it marks one of Ray’s most iconic tracks, also marking her second most-streamed release.
Production-wise, it is bold and unapologetic with notably strong drums throughout the song and the electronic synth notes in the bridge and into the last chorus. In execution, Alex proves her opponent wrong: she is all things success and stardom, while the other person is not.
The leading track, “MESSY,” is evidently the most raw and real track on Ray’s debut EP. She describes issues of mental health, stating that she “wanted to write the ugliest truths about herself.” Even within the debut EP, Alex Ray has proven she is not afraid to be vulnerable. This expressed emotion is yet again reflected in the hard-hitting guitar riffs, which drop around the chorus.
Alex Ray explains: “For me, the bridge is like sitting in a dark room with nothing but your thoughts. It’s uncomfortable. It’s quiet. But it’s the most honest part of the song.
“This isn’t a ‘woe is me’ song. It’s an ‘I royally fucked up my life’ song. And there’s no resolution – because sometimes life doesn’t give you one.”
Upon listening to the EP in full, the main songs that stand out to me are “BOY YOU AIN’T,” “WASTED,” and “MESSY,” all for different reasons discussed above.
I am a fan of the range this EP expresses in the themes it touches, and it is evident that Alex Ray knows what she’s doing with the tracks she’s releasing – her sound is stable and fun, and she knows very well that this is the direction her music is heading in.
She maintains rage, chaos, and heartbreak, while staying true to herself the entire time. She breaks down and builds herself back up again – an act that takes great skill to do.
