Alex Warren, a viral music sensation, released his first album on July 18, 2025. While this album is mostly composed of his popularized songs that were produced before the album, there are a few that Warren kept secret.
I listened to a lot of Warren a while ago, mostly with his older songs, like “Before You Leave Me” and “Carry You Home,” which are still some of my favorites of his. However, this 21-song album is like finally getting a package of stuff you ordered, but the sender added a handful of extra goodies in there for you to enjoy.
Sitting on the top of all of your items in this metaphorical package is the song “Eternity,” a beautiful and powerful song that starts the album off with a bang. It’s about an incredible sense of loss and how he has to “walk this world alone” although he wants to be back with this person so badly. Warren’s vocals are incredibly strong throughout this album, but the lyrics are so powerful in this song. It already has an amazing track behind it with strings and some kind of chorus in the background, especially for the third verse, where there is a heavy bass drum beat and an amazing background vocal track, but recently, Warren released an orchestral version of the song. His vocals matched with the extra instrumentals is a majestic combo, making just as good as the original, if not better.
The second song on this album is “The Outside,” starting off with a completely different vibe than the first song. It has a more pop-rock vibe, but it’s just as good of a song. It’s about the struggle of being a young adult, and trying to figure out what to do with all of these new responsibilities. It’s like a call for help, and a relatable one at that. I connect to the lyrics, and I’m sure everyone can relate in one way or another. This song was released in 2023, but I hadn’t heard it before I listened to this album. I wish I had, because the song is something I could imagine myself listening to a lot.
Next up is the song “First Time On Earth,” one of the more emotional songs and new singles on this album. It’s really a message towards his mother, who he never got any closure with before she died. He understands now how she was flawed and was trying her best, considering it is her first time on Earth. It also has a message of generational pain, which makes the song even deeper. You can hear the emotion in his voice, and that’s what makes the song what it is.
“Bloodline” is the next song up, and it features Jelly Roll, another amazing artist. This was a song released in May, a little before the album was dropped, and this is one of the songs I had on repeat for a while. It’s about not having to follow in the footsteps of who you were raised by, and how you really are your own person, not what others make you. The combined vocals are amazing, and the message is even stronger. What makes this song even better is the music video, which I don’t usually watch, but this one really gives the song another flicker of personality. It takes place in a medieval tavern, and it almost makes the song sound more like a shanty, although I won’t call it that. Nonetheless, the song paired with this video makes it one of my favorite Warren songs of all time.
Up next is “Never Be Far,” which is about how his home will always be a part of him, no matter where he goes and what he does. I connect to this one, considering I came from a town that I didn’t think was small until I came to Keene State, and I learned that everyone’s graduating class reached triple digits, unlike mine. A lot of who I am comes from where I grew up, and just like everyone else, I want to do big things someday. This song is like a profession of that hope for me, and remembering the good times I had in my hometown.
The next song, “Ordinary,” needs no explanation as to why it’s such a good song. Becoming a must-play for weddings, especially after the wedding version was dropped, this song has been a hit and a chartbreaker for months. It’s about a love so powerful it takes you out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary. It’s another powerful love anthem of Warren’s, probably his biggest song, if I had to guess. He even played it on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. This is one of the songs that has been a constant hit since its release in February, but I have never grown sick of it, and I probably never will.
Next up is “Everything,” which is about Warren’s anxiety of losing his wife, and how he would lose everything if he lost her. It’s one of the slower songs on this album, mostly consisting of a piano track, but Warren’s vocals are amazing, per usual. This song is really a profession of his love for his wife, and it’s a really meaningful song in every aspect.
“Getaway Car” is a completely different sound, starting off with a deep bass guitar line. It gives me the slightest reminder of Panic! At The Disco, but it’s such a different sound than the rest of the music on this album that it really stands out. The lyrics are about the worries and stress that comes with success and the pursuit of it, and trying to keep your personality throughout all of it. Because of the sound, it really creates a variety of sound to the album, but it’s still just as good as every other song on this album. It’s a real head-bopper, and if I had to pick a credit song for an action film, this would be one of my first choices.
“Who I Am” is the next song, reverting back to the slow vibe “Everything” was like. It’s a song about wondering who you are to someone and trying to connect with other people through the pursuit of happiness. This one is another song I relate to, considering my struggle to find who I really was and not be what others wanted me to be or saw me as. It’s not as exciting as other songs on this album, but I still listen to it from time to time.
Continuing the back and forth between fast and slow songs, “You Can’t Stop This” is up next. It’s about perseverance and overcoming. This is one of the songs I find myself listening to a lot recently, and the beat is also another complete switch-up from the sound of the rest of the songs. Songs like this make the album what it is and show how much of a range of sounds Warren can put himself into. It is definitely more of an upbeat pop feel, but I think it really adds more depth to the album, as well as another amazing song.
“On My Mind,” the halfway point and the only other song to have an artist featured on this album, is up next. It features ROSÉ, the South Korean artist who was formally part of the BLACKPINK girl group and the artist who made the song “APT.” featuring Bruno Mars. Her vocals are also amazing, and the duet is just as touching as some of Warren’s singles on this album. It’s about longing for someone, yet being in denial that you love them, in a way. I prefer the duet “Bloodline” over this song because of the faster tempo and sound, but this is a very close contender.
After this, the album is just what his EP “You’ll Be Alright, Kid (Part 1)” is. This album is primarily an extension of the EP he released back in Sept. 2024, the first half consisting of his more recent work and the second being this EP. Nevertheless, both halves are equal to other in greatness and theme.
The next song is “Burning Down,” another hit song of Warren’s when it was first released in September 2024. The lyrics talk about betrayal and being at fault for a toxic relationship falling apart. I listened to this song a lot when it first came out, and is bringing back the energy with a slightly faster tempo than “On My Mind.” I love this song because of the meaning, although I can’t say I can relate to them, but the metaphors and wordplay itself is amazing, especially with Warren’s incredible vocals.
“Catch My Breath” slows the album back down, but not in a bad way. It was another song released in September 2024, with lyrics talking about the desire that comes with suddenly falling in love. This is another really good song talking about love, and I’m glad it was included in this album.
The next song, “Carry You Home,” I can only describe as another wedding anthem. It’s a classic of Warren’s, releasing in May 2024, although I feel like I have been listening to this song for years. It’s about loyalt,y no matter what, “no matter if it’s tonight or 50 years down the road.” It has a similar track to “Bloodline,” but it has its differences, especially the lyrics that make it completely different. This is one of the songs I used to listen to a lot, probably too much, but just like every other Warren song, I will probably never grow sick of it.
“Troubled Waters” is up next, released in April 2025. It’s about struggling with your own personal problems and being scared of being abandoned to deal with these struggles on your own. This is in my top three favorite Warren songs of all time. The heavy guitar beat combined with Warren’s vocals makes it such a powerful song, one that I could listen to any day of the year.
Slowing down the run of songs again is “Heaven Without You,” another love song. It’s similar to the message of “Everything” but relates more to him and his wife at the end, and how he will still love her just as much in the afterlife as he does now. It is not an instrumental song, but has that vibe, considering the lack of percussion other than a quiet bass drum, enforcing the mostly acoustic guitar track. Out of his slower songs, this is probably one of the better ones. I do prefer the faster tracks primarily because that’s what I’m more likely to listen to on a daily basis, but this is still a good song of Warren’s.
“Before You Leave Me” is next, and although it is another love song, it’s a little faster than the others in this album. It’s about wanting to have one last moment of peace and love before his partner leaves him. This song holds a place in my heart when it comes to the world of Warren songs, as it was the first song of his I ever heard back in February 2024. Hearing it on his first album really reminds me of how far he has come as an artist, and listening to his song in combination with his newer ones shows how far he’s come, as well as how his old music holds its own place along with his newer songs.
“Save You a Seat” follows the pattern of the back-and-forth slow and fast songs, although this one stands out from the rest of the slower songs. It’s a message to his late parents, and how they never left him, enforcing this message with lyrics like “wherever you are / wherever I’ll be / I’ll save you a seat.” This is one of the songs I listened to frequently when it first came out in March 2024. If there is a song to cry on this album, this is it. You can hear how genuine his lyrics are and can practically understand his love for his parents just through his vocals. It’s my favorite slow song of his, and I’ve been listening to it since it came out.
The next song is “Chasing Shadows,” a song about wanting someone who isn’t in your life anymore; missing something that was never there. It was released in Dec. 2022, and I can say it is one of the best songs vocally on this album. It has his old vibe of a pop heavy beat rather than his new pop-rock sound, but that also adds depth to the album in itself. This was also one of the songs I listened to a lot a while ago, but I rediscovered it when I was listening to this album, and I’m so glad I did.
The second-to-last song on this album is “Yard Sale,” another one of my past favorites. It’s about leaving behind all of the memories from a relationship by symbolising them as items at a yard sale, and how he’s getting rid of the love from the relationship piece by piece because it’s too hard to get rid of the pain all at once. It was released in November 2023, and was probably my favorite song at one point. As a creative writing minor, I know how hard it is to find non-cliché metaphors and ways to symbolize things, but Warren does that here flawlessly, which makes the song even better with the more upbeat tempo.
Finishing off this album is the song “You’ll Be Alright, Kid,” an emotional end to the hour-long album. It’s Warren’s message to his past self, about how he’s going to struggle, and how he wishes he could have told himself, “you’ll be alright, kid,” because he knew that’s what he needed then. The back track is powerful and dramatic in the best way possible, and I could argue that Warren’s vocals on this song is his best performance on this album. I need to listen to this song more than I do because I keep forgetting how amazing of a song it really is.
After listening to this album, I have no argument that Warren shouldn’t have been awarded Best New Artist at this year’s MTV’s Video Music Awards (VMAs). He’s an incredible person and artist, and although I haven’t been listening to him much recently, there is no doubt in my mind that this album will be one of my most listened to by the end of the year.
Hayley Doda can be contacted at
hayley@kscequinox.com
