Music Review: Allie X, CollXtion I

By Less Lee Moore

There are a lot of singers with impeccable voices who make terrible music. And there are many great songwriters who can’t sing worth a damn. Luckily, Allie X is not plagued with either of these problems.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, Allie X caught the ears of many last spring when Katy Perry tweeted a link to her song “Catch” and declared she was “obsessed” with it. Regardless of how you feel about Katy Perry’s music, that’s a huge deal for a young pop singer/songwriter. Now Allie X has released the first of several upcoming EPs, the dazzling CollXtion I, and it’s definitely ripe for obsessing over. I’ve listened to it ten times in just the last three days and I don’t think I’m going to stop anytime soon.

Besides pristine pipes and the ability to craft outrageously infectious hooks, Allie X has something special. Her bio sheds some light on what that something might be: “Consider the X: The variable of possibility. The site of treasure. The doorway to freedom.” Those are provocative words to a generation of people raised by the Internet, and they are the ones who seem to be embracing Allie X in droves. As they should be. (There’s just something compelling about all those spinning GIFs.)

CollXtion I opens with the jubilant “Hello.” The song redefines the word “soaring” and Allie’s octave shift on the lyric “don’t you ever let me go” makes it even more addictive. There’s a black speck in the frosting of the song, with its reference to popping pills to “put it into perspective.” The deservedly hyped “Catch” is a perfectly titled, painstakingly luscious piece of ear candy with a rotten tooth at its core in the form of twisted lyrics about murder, needles, and tourniquets.

The unsavory is a big part of the sweet flavor of CollXtion I. “Tumor” is a sonic sister of the new wave of body horror cinema, evoking the sterile yet visceral thrills of Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral or Richard Bates, Jr.’s Excision. For a song about “watching a swelling grow” it’s heartwrenchingly effusive, but instead of coming in like a wrecking ball, Allie X wields a scalpel.

“Prime” is the aural equivalent of five tabs open on your browser, watching a movie you downloaded while scrolling through Tumblr, chatting on Facebook, checking Twitter, and listening to Spotify. “Forget what I need / Give me what I want / And I should be fine” Allie chirps while she urges the listener to “be a beautiful monstrosity.” “Bitch” is perhaps the queerest song out of all seven on CollXtion I; with a queasy beat and a sharply Auto-tuned chorus, it maneuvers through sexual politics in a way that makes the skin tingle.

“Good” is tremendous, a suicide note to squandered innocence, and the most skillfully crafted and affecting song on an album that’s a literal endorphin rush of great songs. It also reveals that Allie X, in addition to having an unearthly vocal range, can pull at the heartstrings, too. Ending CollXtion I with the virtuoso “Sanctuary” was a clever move. Jeffery X Martin remarked that it reminded him of Madonna, and it definitely has the career-defining vibe of “Like A Prayer,” but when Allie X sings, “If they come with torches / because they don’t like the truth / they can’t hurt me when I’m with you” you don’t need a video to picture the flames.

Although it would be easy to compare Allie X to any number of current pop princesses, it’s worth noting that she isn’t just a pretty voice: she writes and produces her own compositions and plays piano. Her recent Montreal artist residency proves she doesn’t need to lip sync, either. (I have seen her perform twice and yes, her voice is that incredible in person.) Besides, she deserves to be loved on her own terms, even though her bio says “Allie X is not a poster for you to hang on your wall” or “an archetype to mold yourself into.”

Allie X may not be, as she puts it, a “celebrity in the traditional sense” but she is an indisputable talent. Don’t let CollXtion I be the underdog of the year, or the best pop music you didn’t hear in 2015. It’s pure platinum. CollXtion I is my top contender for a summer jam that stays with you long after the weather turns cooler.

CollXtion I was released on Label X on April 21 as a “multimedia, narrative, and collaborative experience.” Fans are encouraged to contribute their own interpretations of X by utilizing song stems and photo layers available on the Allie X website.