Album Review: Best Ex - ‘Good Girl’

New Jersey based Best Ex, the project of Mariel Loveland returns with her latest effort Good Girl this week! The album opens with the title track and features the sugary sweet hooks I’ve come to know and love from Loveland. The record features bright poppy rhythms accompanied by Loveland’s quick witted, biting lyrics that are just so damn good.

Loveland wrote this one for the younger girls in society, as she remembers fondly looking back on some of the leaders in alt music in the 90s like Kim Deal of The Breeders and Pixies fame. Simply put, representation is important and Loveland makes a great musical hero for young people to look to for inspiration!

Additionally, Loveland turns her eye (and wit, we can stress this enough), toward patriarchy, economic imbalance, and the idea of the “good girl” in society. Loveland’s lyricism is simply next-level and she has a sharpness that she can launch barbs that I don’t think I’ve seen since Josh Tillman (aka Father John Misty).

Good Girl is a pure winner in every sense of the word. If I had to pick a favorite track, I would say “Losing Streak”. But again, I know I say this a lot, Good Girl is best enjoyed in the traditional sense of record listening, top to bottom. Which totally tracks, as Loveland told us in our interview this week, she intentionally set out to build a comprehensive record, rather than a collection of singles.

If you’re looking for a fun time, that not only gets you moving, but has substance, you can’t go wrong with this new one from Best Ex!

Rating - 8/10