Alisa Xayalith is the latest Naked and Famous member to release solo music.
Her new dreamy electro-pop track, “Roses,” softens the soaring synth-pop of her band – one of New Zealand’s key musical exports of the early 2010s – with delicate, twinkling instrumentation and her always ethereal vocals.
“Roses” clearly marks a new chapter for Xayalith, reflecting her personal growth and optimism. The lyric “everything’s coming up roses” hints at her hope for better days ahead, even through tough times.
“I think I’m a pessimistic optimist,” she says. “My attempt at solving difficult circumstances involves blindly trusting that everything will be okay if I just wait it out and somehow find the silver lining. Believing good things do come to those who wait. Maybe this is hilariously millennial of me, but the idea of using a garden metaphor felt very natural when writing the lyrics for ‘Roses.’”
“I pictured myself digging up dirt, burying metaphorical fears, worries, troubles, the past, whatever it may be into the soil and for something beautiful to grow in its place, waiting until ‘everything’s coming up roses.’ I think it’s a beautiful thing to look back with someone and say, ‘Isn’t it crazy how we survived each other and made it through?’”
“Roses” is Xayalith’s first release since her debut solo EP Superpowers in 2022.
She’s not the only one from the Naked and Famous going solo: Thomas Powers released his debut album, A Tyrant Crying in Private, in May. Rolling Stone AU/NZ praised its impressive production and “minimalist compositions fused with melancholia and introspection.”
The release of “Roses” also comes with the news that Xayalith has signed with Canadian label Nettwerk, with more new solo music on the way.
You can watch the official visualiser above, perfectly bathed in vintage gold and set against a rose-filled garden backdrop.
Alisa Xayalith’s “Roses” is out now via Nettwerk.
