Alexandra Ashley Hughes has been making music and writing songs since 2006, but it wasn’t until this past year that she changed her whole musical purpose and became Allie X, after recording under the stage names Allie Hughes, Allie X Andrea and ALX. From humble beginnings in Toronto, Allie X is now on a set path to pop stardom with her airy and edgy electro-pop vibe.

One important thing to know first and foremost about Allie X is she is kind of crazy. I could describe her as the Canadian Lady Gaga, but she is definitely something different. In an interview with The Star, she stated that her debut album, “CollXtion 1,” is her way to explore her ‘shadow-self.’ This fascination with her ‘shadow-self’ actually comes from her independent study of Carl Jung, a psychologist whose concept of the shadow aspect, a subconscious personality that encompasses the qualities your conscious mind rejects, really resonated with her. If you would like a visual example of how weird Allie X is I would recommend the indescribable video for her song “Catch,” her first single that is almost too similar to much of CHVRCHES’ music.

You would expect her music to be really dark and eerie, but it’s surpisingly not. Her music is actually as soaring, theatrical and upbeat as Katy Perry. It’s the lyrics that she claims to be ‘dark,’ but in my opinion, it’s really not as ‘dark’ as what I imagine music about someone’s ‘shadow-self’ would be. The most ‘black’ her music really ever gets is “Tumor,” a song relating a poor relationship to a tumor growing on her body that she will have to get surgically removed. She explains the song in an interview as a comparison of “the relationship between you and another person to that of a grotesque neoplasm that you have been aware of but chosen to ignore.”

Her weird aesthetic and interesting mind aside, Allie X’s music is actually quite fun and definitely radio-ready. Her most popular song, “Hello,” is not dark, but rather a happy, joyful song about finding “the one”. It has an explosive, retro chorus that is really catchy. There’s also, “Prime,” a gritty pop anthem, that sounds like a typical Icona Pop banger with an Allie X twist.

One gripe I have with her music is that it’s not cohesive. As I said above, “Catch” is similar to the music of CHVRCHES and “Prime” is essentially an Icona Pop song. Her song, “Bitch” is also like an odd combination of Lana Del Rey and Grimes. Don’t get me wrong, I like her music, but I like all her songs individually, not as a unit. This inconsistency could very well be due to the fact that in the same interview with The Star she states that Allie X is just a way of finding herself and that “when I find my full self I will no longer be Allie X.” So maybe she is just testing out different styles.
I guess I’m just a huge fan of weird musicians. As a die hard FKA Twigs fan, it’s no surprise I’m so fascinated with Allie X. If Allie X is really only a phase to help Alexandra Ashley Hughes find herself, we need to be on the lookout for her next project, most likely with a different name to add to the long list of stage names. She has the talent, I just can’t wait to see her hone it into something amazing.