The Answer Is Always Yes

The Answer Is Always Yes is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Alex Lahey. It was released on 19 May 2023 via Liberation Music, and supported by a North American tour from May to June. It is Lahey's first record to feature external songwriters and co-producers, marking a stylistic departure from her first two albums.

At the 2023 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album.

At the AIR Awards of 2024, the album was nominated for Best Independent Rock Album or EP.

Production
Music publication Billboard found the album to have an optimistic outlook on life despite its lyricism focusing on some discomforting topics, with Taylor Mims writing "her positivity breaks through with fuzzy guitar riffs, playful pop tunes, angsty post-punk tracks and her ever-present sense of humor". The Answer Is Always Yes is Alex Lahey's first album to feature external collaborators, whom the artist was originally reluctant to introduce, but upon reflection: "I was able to let them do their best work ... and that's why it worked".

Release and promotion
On 1 September 2022, lead single "Congratulations" was issued alongside a music video and dates for a regional tour beginning in October 2022. Upon the release, Lahey explained she was "drawn to examine her past relationships, and reckon with the feeling she had when seeing her former partners move on". She also hinted that the single was "the first taste in a long-awaited new chapter". On 11 November, second single "Shit Talkin'" was released. The record was officially announced on 1 February 2023 following the premiere of third single, "Good Time", on Triple J.

Following the release of the album, Lahey embarked on a 23-date North American tour, going from May to June. In August 2023, she commenced a nationwide Australian tour.

On 21 September 2023, Lahey announced an expanded edition of The Answer Is Always Yes, which released on 6 October. A new single, "Newsreader", was issued alongside the news.

Reception
John Amen of The Line of Best Fit concluded the album had a "lighter palette" with "sonics relatively subdued, mixes less raucous" compared to her first two records. He concluded that "her melodies are consistently enrolling, and her lyrics [...] are aptly accessible". Writing for Beat Magazine, Bryget Chrisfield said that The Answer Is Always Yes was an "ebullient and infinitely relatable" listen.