Ten years is a long time in indie rock. Long enough for a scrappy Melbourne songwriter’s debut EP to become a coming-of-age touchstone, and long enough to justify bringing it back with a few surprises tucked inside.
Alex Lahey has announced B-Grade University (Reunion Edition), a 10-year anniversary reissue of her breakout debut EP, landing July 17 via Dead Oceans. The reissue arrives with a freshly re-recorded version of the EP’s standout single, “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me” — this time featuring Canadian duo Tegan and Sara — plus a run of solo U.S. tour dates set for July.
Back when B-Grade University first dropped, it made real noise: Entertainment Weekly tagged Lahey as an artist “Breaking Big,” Stereogum named her one to watch, and Pitchfork handed “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me” a Best New Track nod, praising the way her words tumble out with breathless, vulnerable ease. NYLON zeroed in on the EP’s tight 18-minute runtime, calling out its knack for capturing the messiness of modern romance and the strange comedy of heartbreak, drawing comparisons to Car Seat Headrest and Bully along the way.
For Tegan and Sara, the reunion has a full-circle quality. The duo remembers watching Lahey perform the track from the side of the stage on a joint tour a decade ago, and now they’re the ones singing on it. They’ve been open about admiring how Lahey’s talent as a songwriter is matched by her offbeat sense of humor — and about staking an early claim as fans, well before the rest of the world caught on.
Lahey herself has described the writing of the original EP in vivid, personal terms — sitting in her childhood bedroom at her mum’s house, watching Melbourne’s skyline creep further into view, and selling her car to scrape together studio time. She’s said the songs changed the course of her life entirely, carrying her to places she never imagined and connecting her with people who found their own stories inside them.
What’s on the reissue
Alongside the four original B-Grade University tracks, the Reunion Edition folds in re-recordings of “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me” and “Let’s Go Out,” alternate versions of “Wes Anderson” and “Let’s Go Out” pulled from Lahey’s 2020 Between the Kitchen and the Living Room EP, and a 2017 live-in-studio recording of “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me” from triple j’s Like A Version. A limited vinyl run is available for pre-order now.
Full tracklist:
Ivy League
Let’s Go Out
Wes Anderson
You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me
L-L-L-Leave Me Alone
You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me (feat. Tegan and Sara)
Let’s Go Out (feat. Slowly Slowly)
Wes Anderson – Bathroom Version
Let’s Go Out – Bedroom Version
You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me (triple j Like A Version)
TOUR
Lahey will mark the anniversary with shows on both sides of the Pacific. Back home, the B-Grade University Reunion Tour touches down in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide in late August:
Thu Aug 20 — The Triffid, Brisbane
Fri Aug 21 — Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sat Aug 22 — Manning Bar, Sydney
Fri Aug 28 — The Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Sat Aug 29 — Jive, Adelaide
All tickets at www.alexlahey.com.au Threekingstouring.com.au
VINYL ORDER – Alex Lahey – B-Grade University – EXCLUSIVE SPLATTER Reunion Edition Vinyl LP
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