Allie X’s art-pop discography is richly enigmatic. From the eerie softness of Cape God to the electric, 80s-influenced vibrancy of Girl With No Face, Allie has an undeniable mastery of the full spectrum of pop. With such skillful range at her disposal, the announcement of her latest album Happiness Is Going to Get You was once again a source of thrilling intrigue. A title like that would suggest a continuation of her most recent surge in sonic energy. Then you see the track list – titles like ‘Is Anybody Out There?’, ‘Down Season’ and ‘It Gets Better (It’s Worse Than Ever)’ – and you’re reminded of Allie X’s signature dry wit. If anyone were to make a gut-wrenching album befitting of the emotional tumult of a Cambridge winter and call it Happiness Is Going To Get You, it would be Allie X.

‘Is Anybody Out There?’ introduces us to the surreal landscape of this album. The troubles Allie X faces in this track are abnormally hyperspecific: personal favourite moments of mine include her description of her insurance brokers falling into depression and teabags being recalled for pesticide. Yet, beyond the surface, there’s a deep relatability to this track. I may not be facing these exact struggles, yet there’s a raw, primal desperation to the belted harmonies of each chorus.

“With tears blooming and flowers dying, Allie X accepts this innate emotional cycle across the seasons”

The lyrics of these more repetitive moments also ring far truer to the current world; in the most bleak of times, it can be easy to wonder who is truly there for you. This is only compounded by the many current national and international crises we face – from global genocides and climate destruction to the rising cost of living and political turmoil closer to home, the isolation and ignorance that Allie X speaks of is seemingly on the rise. The track may be set in a cruelly unsettling dystopia of its own, but, beyond the superficial details, it’s not all that far removed from plenty of real-world atrocities.

Taking a softer approach, ‘Down Season’ acknowledges how this dismay can be especially hard-hitting in the winter months. Still, there’s a delicate beauty, even to these darkest emotions. The piano intro is velvety smooth, flowing into a bassy timbre with interjections of dramatic strings. The closing of the track is an especially noteworthy showcase of Allie X’s vocals, as she shifts between soaring belts and a soothing, almost motherly whisper. There’s also an objective neutrality – perhaps even positivity – in her outlook towards this challenging period.

Nature plays an integral part in her narrative; with tears blooming and flowers dying, Allie X accepts this innate emotional cycle across the seasons. There’s something immensely reassuring in this admission. The Cambridge calendar rewards consistency, with no explicit caveat to account for how difficult it can be to manage basic survival and self-care – let alone high-quality work – in the colder months. As we roll into early Lent, one of the worst times especially for those with seasonally affected mental or physical health, Down Season will be my personal reminder of the validity and necessity of the winter slump.

“Perhaps to acknowledge and accept this organic emotional cycle could be the best thing for your happiness after all”

However, this isn’t to say that the hope or vitality of albums past is no longer with us. ‘Stay Green’ simultaneously laments the hardships explored earlier on the album whilst providing a source of comfort to the inner child. A bouncy beat underscores Allie X’s wistful reminiscing of a simpler time where “the blues were still blue and the greens were still so green,” before arguing the importance of holding onto this vibrant outlook for as long as one can. But what exactly does it mean to stay green? Across the album, Allie X speaks of the necessity of softness and even, at points, periodic decay. When this is perceived through a bigger-picture lens – especially in a capitalist society – the time lost to the winter period can be a frightening prospect. By contrast, for a child blissfully unaware of any external pressures to pick themselves up and dust themselves off, a period of sadness is exactly that. It may be felt more strongly, but unashamedly allowing those feelings allows you to answer them and recover at your own pace.

Happiness is going to get you when the time rolls around again. It may seem counter-intuitive during the bleakest points of winter, but perhaps to acknowledge and accept this organic emotional cycle could be the best thing for your happiness after all. With such wisdom delivered in Allie X’s deeply soothing tones and underscored by a subtle blend of acoustic and electronic artistry, Happiness Is Going To Get You will swaddle you in a necessary warming comfort as we enter Lent Term.