ALEX RAY REVEALS DEBUT EP MESSY — A RAW, GRITTY EXPLORATION OF CHAOS, CONTROL & SELF-CONFRONTATION

Nashville-based alt-pop artist Alex Ray rips the filter off with her long-awaited debut EP, MESSY, arriving October 17. Equal parts confessional and cathartic, MESSY is Ray’s unflinching portrait of mental health, mania, heartbreak, and the chaos that comes from facing yourself without flinching.

Featuring standout tracks “Boy You Ain’t,” “Drivers Side,” “Wasted,” “Yours To Use,” and focus/title track “Messy,” the five-song collection is stitched together by razor-sharp lyricism, grungy guitars, and pulsing synths. With “Messy” as its title track and emotional center, the EP digs deep into the unspoken — the moments you’d rather hide, the mistakes you’d rather forget, and the late-night self-talk that keeps you awake. Anchored by grungy guitars, punchy drums, and synth-driven alt-pop production, MESSY is a journey through anger, self-destruction, and — eventually — radical honesty.

If MESSY is the story of Alex Ray facing herself, then “Messy” is the moment she stops running. The track opens with a slow-burn build before crashing into a chorus that’s as anthemic as it is gut-wrenching, capturing the feeling of spiraling out but refusing to sugarcoat it.

Ray wrote the song during a time when she felt completely unmoored. “I was so tired of silencing myself for everyone else’s comfort,” she explains. “I wanted to write the ugliest truths about myself — about the nights I couldn’t get out of bed, the manic decisions that emptied my bank account, the house I let fall apart around me. 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.”

Sonically, “Messy” hits hard. Gritty guitar riffs clash with shimmering synths, building to a bridge that drops out almost completely — leaving a moment of stark silence that personifies the track’s emotional core. “For me, that bridge is like sitting in a dark room with nothing but your thoughts,” Ray says. “It’s uncomfortable. It’s quiet. But it’s the most honest part of the song.”

The accompanying music video, also out October 17, mirrors this descent and reckoning, creating a visual world that is raw, claustrophobic, and intentionally unpolished — just like the song itself.

Across five tracks — “Messy,” “Boy You Ain’t,” “Drivers Side,” “Wasted,” and “Yours To Use” — Alex Ray traces the arc of unraveling and self-rebuilding. The EP balances swaggering alt-pop bangers with haunting, confessional moments, showcasing Ray’s duality: confident and untouchable one moment, deeply insecure and fragile the next.

Ray calls MESSY her most vulnerable project yet. “My therapist once told me that real vulnerability is supposed to feel hard. And I realized I hadn’t been practicing real vulnerability — I was just sharing what was easy for me. So I wrote about the things I was most ashamed of, the stuff I’d never said out loud,” she shares.

The result is a project that doesn’t just tell a story — it invites listeners into the darkest corners of Ray’s headspace and asks them to sit there with her. From the toxic, magnetic energy of “Drivers Side” to the aching honesty of “Yours To Use,” MESSY doesn’t offer tidy resolutions. Instead, it celebrates the beauty in being painfully, unapologetically human.

MEET ALEX RAY:

Nashville-based artist Alex Ray travels between Music City and Los Angeles with a raw authenticity that defines her sound. Crafting pop-rock alternative music with a distinctive blend of grit and synth influences, her songwriting began as a therapeutic outlet in adolescence and remains the cornerstone of her artistic identity.

After a remarkable detour during which she graduated as valedictorian from law school and secured a position at a prestigious firm, Ray ultimately answered music's undeniable call. She is the internet's consummate “fangirl” whisperer and spends her days exploring her favorite artists on her YouTube channel where she has amassed thousands of subscribers.

Ray's unflinching willingness to address her experiences with bipolar disorder has become a signature element of her artistry. She intentionally creates spaces where difficult conversations flourish and vulnerability is celebrated rather than suppressed. While her sound continues to evolve, her commitment to lyrical honesty remains unwavering—offering listeners an intimate glimpse into her distinctive perspective on the human condition. Her debut EP is set to release in fall 2025.