EP Review: George Alice releases ‘Growing Pains’ EP

The much-anticipated debut EP from George Alice (Georgia Mannion) will be released on 18th February 2022. Alice will embark on a tour in support of the EP in May, culminating in an appearance at Splendour in the Grass.

The 8-track EP contains Alice’s current single ‘Hold On’ as well as previous singles ‘Mid Years’,’ Teenager’ , ‘Stuck in a Bubble’ and her triple j unearthed high winning track ‘Circles’.

The preternaturally talented Alice, who started busking at the age of 11, stunned with her cover of the Rüfüs du Sol song ‘Alive’ for Triple J’s ‘Like a Version’ earlier this year.

The album opens with ‘Band Aid’ a song about ripping off the band aid of a failed relationship. The song showcases Alice’s ability to hit the high notes and features a banging dance-inducing chorus, which neatly offsets the song’s sad subject material.

‘Stuck in a Bubble’ is a slower song, but is an album highlight with its fuzzy beat and its Hall and Oates pop sensibility. It makes you want to haul out your bellbottoms and get up and party like it’s 1977.

Next up are the previously-released ‘Mid Years’ and ‘Hold On’. ‘Teenager’ has Alice expressing all the angst that has been a characteristic theme of songs about the teenage years since the Shangri Las and others first sang about this period of life. Alice has said that ‘Teenager’ is the most personal song that she has ever released. There is a cheeky 1950s feel to the track, but the lyrics and Alice’s voice anchor the song very much in the 2020s even though you half expect a Frankie Valli falsetto to break out any minute.

Next up are ‘Nervous’ and the single ‘Circles’ which was co-written with Maribelle Anes. Alice has spoken about how ‘Circles’ references music by King Princess, Yaeji and Tkay Maizda. With an irresistible beat offset by Alice’s plaintiff rendering of the lyrics, it is not hard to see why this song has been streamed over 8 million times on Spotify and led to her winning Triple J’s ‘Unearthed’ at the age of 16 in 2019.

The EP closes with ‘Haunted’ which starts off as a piano-led ballad but builds slowly to a crescendo of irresisitible pop gorgeousness. And then ghost-like, she’s gone and you’re left wanting more.

George Alice with ‘Growing Pains’ delivers on the promise that she has shown from the days that she was a busker in her home city of Adelaide. Her ability to draw on contemporary artists and fuse them together with music from a much earlier age is remarkable. With this EP, George Alice has signalled that she might have outgrown Adelaide and surely world domination must now follow?

George Alice Tour Dates and Tickets here.

Presented by Triple J and Select Music.

Photo Credit: Daniel Steinert