Artist Spotlight: Alisa Xayalith’s Starting Anew with Her Debut Album “Slow Crush”
Though music is nothing new to a seasoned artist like Alisa Xayalith, her debut album, Slow Crush, is taking her back to the beginning after 13 years in the industry. Her contemporary album comes with passages of life, love, and limerence. Released on April 4, Slow Crush is the story of a girl and a woman, one and the same, as she navigates the complexities and softness of the feminine experience.
With a quick and excited click to allow her entry to the meeting, Alisa Xayalith’s face brightened the screen as she joined EnVi over Zoom. “I’ve been up since 4:30 a.m.,” laughed Xayalith. “I think I have a lot going on, and my brain just woke me up!” After a bit of small talk about life, Xayalith was ready to spill everything Slow Crush.
Stepping into the Spotlight Solo
After almost two decades in the music industry, Xayalith is taking the time to learn about what she wants out of her music. As the lead singer of the band The Naked and Famous, she knows how to make a song sound good, but her voice during the production process wasn’t heard. With her first EP, Superpowers, it dawned on her, music can actually be fun.
“The Superpowers EP was the first time I decided to open the door up and say, ‘Can I do this? Am I allowed to do this?’” joked Xayalith with a mischievous look. “ I was discovering where my strengths were, what my weaknesses were, and [I could] have total abandon with what I decided to make. This is a step up from that. My album is an elevation of my EP.”
With a new ownership of her style, there was no more second-guessing. Add in a couple of support systems and other artists for a listening ear, and she was ready to write. “Making this album and making my first EP was a real exercise in taking agency over my creative process in a new profound way,” explained Xayalith. “I didn’t realize how unhealthy and toxic my creative process was before I started writing for myself again.”
As Xayalith continued to write after Superpowers, everything started to unravel. With more creative freedom, came more curiosity and more intrigue in wanting to experiment. Though she had been a lyricist and vocalist in her prior group, she now had authority over production as well, which came with a completely new vocabulary.
Though she may not be self-producing all of her songs, she finds importance in being able to communicate what she wants and how she wants it. “I think I was able to take that new language with me and use it when I was making the record because I felt more comfortable with what I was able to articulate to everybody in the room,” said Xayalith with explanatory hand gestures.
Upon reflecting on this learning curve, Xayalith carefully chose every word and ultimately came to this statement. “One of the sayings I take with me into every room is ‘provide a path forward and never provide roadblocks,’” meaning when she stumbles into something she doesn’t know how to communicate, she learns and finds a way. Within the three years since her EP release, Xayalith has refreshed, reloaded, and relearned, preparing not only for the debut of her album but of a new retrospective of her life.
Every Song has a Story
When it comes to Alisa Xayalith’s music, every song is a narrative with delicate characters, plot points, and pieces. Before the release of Slow Crush, seven out of ten songs were pre-released from August 2024 to February 2025, each with its own story to tell. Her final pre-release, “Kiss Me Like You’re So In Love,” stands out on the album for its rock influence and eclectic feel. With a large grin on her face, Xayalith admitted, “That was a sneaky one because I thought I had finished the album.” During a trip to Norway and a couple writing sessions with Matias Téllez and her husband, Tyler Spry, the song suddenly had an unspoken and unwritten pull in the room.
As the melodies fell into place, so did the aura of the tune. “It makes me feel like a femme fatale kind of character, and there’s this confidence,” said Xayalith. “I don’t know who she is, but I’ll write it because it seems like [the song] wants to go there.” With a push from Spry to embody the sexy and self-assured persona, she recorded the vocals and let herself breathe in the good omen of a fresh experience.
Though “Kiss Me Like You’re So In Love” is admittedly Xayalith’s favorite song on the album, before it came along, her song of choice was “Chaotic,” a quirky, unserious track about maybe, possibly, falling in love. While watching Studio Ghibli movies one night, specifically Spirited Away, she was transported within the whimsy and struck with the need to write. Inspired by the movie’s soundtrack, “Chaotic” possesses a playful synth and cheeky lyrics full of Ghibli charm.
While reminiscing on the writing process of these songs and others on the album, Xayalith said, “Honestly, I feel like I’m making up for lost time whenever I write a new song or when I step into a room with new people. It feels like a new way of creating for me and expressing myself. I think making this record kind of healed my inner child.” Due to the safety and comfort of those she surrounded herself with during the album’s process, Slow Crush presents the truest and most free version of Alisa Xayalith.
Music Videos and Mood Boarding
Making this album, Xayalith set out to honor her younger self, the girl who wanted to be an artist at only 13 years old. Keeping her lifelong love for romance front of mind, she set to mood boarding for the art of the album. While thinking of movies she’s always admired, like In the Mood for Love, she focused on the dreamy and lush qualities, questioning “how can I capture this in a nostalgic way that feels beautiful to me?”
With camcorder footage spliced in with iPhone footage, different textures, and different scenes all cut together, the artist chose mixed media to capture the nostalgia and moodiness that she was aiming for. As for the single art, her Polaroid camera was used to take self-portraits, completing her DIY and comforting aesthetic, mimicking a memory alongside the music.
For songs like “Boys & Guitars,” the singer returned to her roots to film the visualizer in her old bedroom. “I was so boy crazy as a kid… I was obsessed with love, and before I even fell in love, I loved love songs.” Translated in the lyrics, Xayalith sings, “I knew nothing about love / I was fanatical making it up / Careful what you wish for.” Adorned in a flowy, light blue dress, she embodies her younger, carefree self, jumping around her room and wishing for the love she has photographed around her room.
Same as the moving visuals of the album, the album cover got a mood board of its own as well. “I ended up working with this photographer, Caity Krone, who shoots a lot of incredible musicians, and she shot it on film,” Xayalith explained. “Everything felt kind of organic, and I wanted it to feel organic throughout the process.”
Future of Femme Fatale, Alisa Xayalith
Some may think that a debut album is a good place to stop and rest for a bit, but for Alisa Xayalith, the excitement has only begun. Nearing the end of April, she will be opening for Sunday (1994) on “the debut tour” for seven shows until the beginning of June. For a seasoned performer like Xayalith, a live show might seem like a walk in the park. Instead, there’s a nervous excitement in her voice. “I’m freaked out.” Xayalith laughed, rocking back and forth, “I’m freaked out, but I’m really excited about it!” Lucky fans in attendance will actually be witnessing her first time playing a solo live performance. After the fated success of her live shows, she plans on beginning work for her next project, as well as continuing to write songs for other artists.
With introspection on her childhood, loving thoughts of her teenage years, and healing from her adulthood, Slow Crush is officially the debut album of the all-encompassing Alisa Xayalith.
Slow Crush is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music. Make sure to stay up to date on all things Alisa Xayalith on her Instagram and TikTok.
Want more EnVi exclusives? Check out our interview with Filipino singer-songwriter Brynne about his debut album here!
