Perth/Boorloo songwriter ALEIA emerges with a debut of striking depth on Public Humiliation, a five-track journey through heartbreak, disillusionment, and self-reclamation. Produced by Dylan Ollivierre, the EP threads together intimate folk textures, dreamy pop ambience, and lyrical honesty — tracing the uneasy terrain between love and self-worth.
Debut track “Had Your Fun” opens the EP with riveting, moody prowess. Introspective post-breakup lyricism combines with a swelling structural momentum, moving from solemn piano pulses into multi-layered vocal entrancement. “Take on mistakes you’ve made, but at least you had your fun,” ALEIA sings with soulful charm, pairing battleground-like references to love with a stirringly melodic sound.
The ensuing “Pretty When I Cry” moves in with a more subdued folk-set introduction, weaving soft acoustic strums and palpable thematic yearning. “You think I’m pretty when I cry, that’s why you make me cry all the time,” ALEIA laments in the heartrending chorus, coming to terms with a relationship’s decay and one-sided appreciation.
Another highlight comes in “Public Humiliation,” haunting in its vocal tone and “what color pills should I take?” expressions of internal suffering. “This isn’t love, this is public humiliation,” the vocals move into atmospheric, twangy guitar mystique — poetic in its ruminations on modern love, and the role of performative emotion in a digital age. The bursts of guitars and synths in the “can’t change” hook plays as one of the EP’s most breathtaking moments.
Finale “Holy Water” stirs as well, its “I blocked you on everything” opening sentiments feeling like a natural continuation of this modern-day love. “I’m still having trouble with adjusting to the present tense,” ALEIA sings into moving strings and an eventual choir infusion; both the studio and live version conclude the EP with phenomenal power. Public Humiliation is a thoroughly compelling success of an EP from ALEIA.
