Built around his soulful, worn-in voice and wrapped in tender harmonies, Alex Coley & Afterlove explore the elemental tension between joy and pain; heartache and healing; what was and what will be. Debut album, The Arc, arrives at the end of this locked-down, fearful era when gazing backward was all we had, serving as a beautiful reminder of the transformative power of introspection. The songs that emerge are both melancholic and hopeful, capturing themes of nostalgia, resilience, heartbreak and unexpected clarity. Alex Coley & Afterlove’s music reminds us that the darkest, windiest days are often the days we feel deeper and love harder.

Alex wrote the album’s focus track, “Hold it All,” at a time when he was feeling like he was holding all of the blame. Despite his best efforts to be friends with his ex, they hadn’t spoken for a while and he was starting to become angry about it. So, in a moment of anger and frustration, holding all of the responsibility, Alex had this cathartic release where he refused to keep blaming himself for everything and started sharing some of the blame, and that’s when he wrote “Hold it All.”