Growing up, Olly Alexander was enthralled by the mythology and folklore of fairy tales. He grew up in the Forest of Dean, in South West England, and worked at Moonstones, a shop specializing in the sale of witches’ books and crystals.
Over time, and through the influence of films like David Bowie’s Labyrinth, the Years & Years frontman took note of the way identity functioned differently in fantasy realms. “I think it's such a great way of storytelling because we all have a relationship to these creatures or these myths,” he tells The FADER over Zoom from London.
On Night Call, Years & Years' third album and the first since the band became his solo project, Alexander transforms into one of the fairy tale creatures he loved the most — the siren, whose voice could lure sailors to their demise on jagged rocks.
Gone are Alexander’s days of writing himself into the role of the heartbroken and yearning victim; now he’s the one tempting less-than-ingeniuous men to danger.
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