Like many of us, Olly Alexander considers himself an emotional person. But while others may hide from that revelation, the singer/songwriter opts to fully dive into all the intricacies of emotions. "I'm interested in the drama, the escape, the intensity, the high stakes of a pop song," he tells GRAMMY.com. "I'm always trying to get at that epic, bittersweet feeling."

On Polari, which arrived Feb. 7, Alexander captures just that. The British artist began his career as the frontman of electropop trio Years & Years, who debuted with 2015's Communion and later became Alexander's solo project with the release of 2022's Night Call. Now, Alexander is entering a new chapter of his career with Polari, which officially marks the first album released under his own name — a transition he admits is "scary," but one knew he needed. 

"I was going against some of my previous habits to lean on certain tricks or styles to make the song work," he says of his new process. "But I had to just be like, 'No, I'm not listening to any of those voices. I'm just gonna make the most 'me' sounding thing I can.

"Doing the last album as Years & Years, even though it was a solo project, made me realize it just didn't feel right anymore," he continues. "I felt like if I stayed as Years & Years, I always have something to hide behind, and that's just not who I wanted to be anymore. I thought it's best to start this new chapter and have Years & Years be what it was."

Polari is a reference to a historic gay subculture lexicon of the same name, whose origins can be traced back to the 19th century. The slang has gone through many transformations across decades, which is what Alexander and main producer Danny L Harle wanted to explore on the record. It was a fitting reference, as the artist connects his past and future throughout the 13-song track list.

"I sort of was imagining it as this love letter to being gay and to just being alive, as well as writing all these love songs about my boyfriend. Polari contains all of these different emotions of how I feel about being a songwriter," he says of the album title's significance. "[The word] Polari seemed to be this guiding light. It also sounded magical, like a star in the sky. And I like that feeling as well."

The deeper the conversation with Alexander got, the more it was clear that Polari also doubles as a love letter to himself. From recording it around the area where he partied in his twenties to honoring the '80s pop he grew up listening to, the album helped him define his identity more than ever before.

Below, Alexander breaks down his primary sources of inspiration for Polari, including working at a Metaphysical Store in the early '00s and the brilliance of the Pet Shop Boys.

Finding The Perfect Producer

For Polari, Alexander intentionally worked with a smaller pool of collaborators, with British composer and producer Danny L Harle spearheading the execution of his vision. The pair first worked together on Alexander's 2024 Eurovision entry, "Dizzy" (now featured on Polari), and their reunion was serendipitous. The producer's studio in London's Hackney neighborhood was across the street from a gay club Alexander frequented in his early 20s, where he "discovered dance music in a new way" — which felt more like serendipity than a coincidence. 

"It was significant that this album was all made in London because I was drawing so much inspiration from that time in my life," the singer asserts. "It couldn't have been made anywhere else."

Alexander first discovered Harle, who was previously signed as an artist on provocative pop label PC Music, through his 2019 remix of Years & Years' "Shine." Harle often takes an experimental approach to classic pop tropes, as seen with his work with Caroline Polachek (2019's Pang and 2023's GRAMMY-nominated Desire, I Want to Turn Into You) and Dua Lipa's 2023 single "Houdini." His inventiveness made for the perfect pairing with Alexander: the '90s rave campiness of their first "Dizzy" collaboration to Polari's atmospheric "Whisper In The Waves" and the title track's adrenaline rush.

"What was important to me was the person's — who I'm working with and literally bearing my soul with — attitude towards how music is made. I wanted someone who was going to hold my hand in this endeavor, be able to push me and be able to see things from my perspective while also having their own. So how do you know who that person is going to be? You just have to talk to them. And I remember just wanting his opinions on how music is today. Is it better now? Was it better before? And what do you think about music from this period? 

"I felt as though I've spent the last 10 years writing pop songs in a certain way, and I wanted to get away from how I previously worked," Alexander continues. "I remember [Danny and I] discussing Jason Donovan's 'Too Many Broken Hearts' which is a Stock Aitken Waterman song. We were pulling that song apart: 'Why do we like the song? Why is it good? And why is this sound so absent from modern music now?' I needed someone who wasn't afraid to think outside the box and push things musically. And I think we have."

Leaning Into A New Direction

The album is a vibrant connection of Alexander's past and future, as he draws from the '80s pop he grew up listening to while exploring what he envisions the genre's future to sound like (the pulsating "Cupid's Bow"); "Make Me A Man" even features a production credit from one of the decade's legends (more on that later). As much as it celebrates his teen inspirations, it's also a thrilling insight into where his artistry is heading next — thanks to Harle's encouragement.

"I was very much just showing up to sessions, asking the universe to guide me in the right direction. I've always loved '80s music, and I've been really influenced by that era. But I went back to a lot of the stuff that I was listening to when I did 'It's A Sin' [a 2021 British drama miniseries that starred Alexander]. At the same time, I started working with Danny," the singer recalls. 

"He's such a genius and he really could make any genre of music, but he has this real love and appreciation of electronic music from the '80s and the '90s — like Stock Aitken Waterman, Erasure and Pet Shop Boys. He said to me, 'Ollie, have you thought about doing this? I feel like this is where you should be.'

"I had been resisting it, because I thought, 'Is this obvious?' Because I played a character on TV from the '80s," Alexander adds. "But I just leaned into it, and then it opened up this really rich vein of inspiration."

The Glory Days Of '80s Synth-Pop

Polari explodes with Alexander's and Harle's interpretation of '80s pop, from the dynamic title track and its club-centric video that's reminiscent of George Michael to the icy synths on "Shadow of Love."

"I was definitely inspired by Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. Also Erasure, specifically the album The Circus. Vince Clarke, who is one-half of Erasure and also in Depeche Mode. He blows my mind. He co-produced one of the tracks, 'Make Me a Man,' which was crazy because they were my biggest sonic inspirations," he says of the album's musical foundation. 

"There was just a lot of palette of the '80s and then some '90s stuff. Stock Aitken Waterman, Adamski, George Michael — the spirit of a lot of those records. Because I'm imagining the way they were made. It's the early use of the technology and all those sounds are so exciting," he shares. "They were producing an entirely different way to how you produce a record now. So it's trying to imitate some of that, which is about the synths sometimes feeling really hot and almost too much, and then you just have a bold approach to the arrangement. Danny is so good at that."

Alexander also references Kate Bush, whose arrangements he cites as "just unbelievable," along with other rule-breaking women pop acts like Mel & Kim and Kylie Minogue. "I was listening to [Bush's 1985 album] Hounds of Love thinking for something like 'Whisper in the Waves,'" he explains. "I wanted a song that touched on that feeling, like a Seal song, a Kate Bush song, or Prince, even.

"I had all of the legends in my head. I was trying to focus on what I loved about Neil Tennant's delivery and Pet Shop Boys' song construction," the singer adds. "The same with Jimmy Somerville, Andy Bell [from Erasure], and George Michael, because I wanted to channel that gay trailblazer spirit. They're almost like gay warriors to me. That's why I'm shooting a bow and arrow on the cover, because I'm this time-traveling gay crusader."

Love's Ebbs & Flows

Polari, like Alexander's previous work, builds upon his creation of a safe space for love. He's embracing all of love's angles, whether it be tension, desire, lust, heartache, or passion. "When We Kiss" tries to reignite a relationship's dulled flame, "Heal You" finds solace in the comfort of your lover's arms, and "Beautiful" oozes with gushy adoration.

"I've always written songs about desire and searching for love, but this album was especially prevalent to me because I got back together with my partner," Alexander reveals. "We dated 10 years ago and we're still together now. I love him more than anything. I was reflecting on all the turbulence that happened between us because we've gone through so many ups and downs. That really wove its way into all the songs." 

Along with navigating the journey of his relationship, Alexander notes that Polari is just as much about embracing self-love. "I had this realization that I had to make [the album] primarily for myself. I love all the Years and Years music so much. But I realized this is the album I have to make right now. I've taken everything I've learned and that was such a good feeling," he says. "So that's why a lot of the songs, I think, have a slightly different perspective from the earlier songs. I'm just at a different place, and I wanted to be able to write some of those songs for myself."

A Literary Classic

Polari's "Whisper In The Waves" best showcases a new side of Alexander's storytelling, which he says was inspired by Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey." The music video amplifies this, detailing an emotional tug-of-war as your mind urges your body to let go of a past love. 

"Danny and I were looking at Greek mythology for bits of inspiration. I also love looking for queer history, especially queer ancient history. There's a really amazing story in "The Odyssey" where Odysseus gets trapped on an island by this woman called Calypso," he says. "She basically captures Odysseus, falls in love with him, and keeps in there for seven years. Eventually, he leaves because he has to go back on his journey. I just imagined this doomed love story between Calypso and Odysseus and I wanted a song that reflected that."

The Polari Language 

The album's title derives from Polari, a coded language shared between gay men in inter- and post-war Britain that peaked before the legalization of homosexuality in 1967. Polari later entered the modern British lexicon with slang like "shady," "camp," "drag," "trade" (for sex), and "slap" (for makeup). Alexander tried to have as much of a Polari approach to the album as possible, from "I Know" being a cheeky nod to knowing about one's sexuality to naming "Dizzy" after an actual Polari word.

"Growing up in the U.K., these drag queens would host television shows and use Polari words in their routines. But I didn't know it was Polari at the time until doing 'It's A Sin.' I was reading these diaries from [British filmmaker, artist and gay rights activist] Derek Jarman, researching about living in the '80s in the U.K.," Alexander says. "Jarman did some work in Polari. I love him so much and I was looking to him for a lot of inspiration for visuals and storytelling for the album. They were all these light bulbs going off and sending me to all these connected places.

"Danny was asking me, 'What is Polari?' I was telling him, but I didn't know too much about it, so I picked up a book about it," he continues. "It really blew my mind how this sort of language was so influential. It tells a story that I thought was so inspiring for the album."

The secret coded language of Polari provided community to gay people, which Alexander related to with his own approach to making music. He realized that he'd unknowingly been practicing Polari throughout his entire career. 

"I've got a song on [Years & Years' 2018 album] Palo Santo called 'Rendezvous,' and that's very Polari to have this random French word and throw it in to represent a physical encounter. And even 'Take Shelter' on the first album [2015's Communion] was a euphemism for someone taking control in the bedroom. That spirit is very woven into Polari," he adds. 

"Once I knew this album was going to be called Polari, I was questioning what it means to be a songwriter, to be a communicator, and then to be an artist where people judge you. So Polari was literally just me inviting those questions in: What does it mean to say anything?," he elaborates. "And then by the end of the album, 'Language' obviously had to be the closer. Ultimately, it's about how can you get at that feeling of telling someone that you love them. Sometimes words just are not enough. Even though I've just done a whole album about words. Yeah, a contradiction [Laughs]."

Religious Symbolism

Woven throughout Polari are mystical and religious contexts, from praying for the bite of Adam's apple in "Make Me A Man" to the angelic nods in "Cupid's Bow" and "Archangel." These themes come naturally to Alexander, who previously explored the connection between religion and desire on Years & Years' Palo Santo. For this new album, the intention goes even deeper.

"I've just always been really drawn to spirituality, faith and how we interpret religion. The symbolism is just so powerful," Alexander says. "All of us have some relationship with religious symbolism or spiritual imagery, no matter what our faith is. 

"I don't have a faith, but I grew up next to a church," he further explains. "One place I lived was next to a church, and I remember being super fascinated by the whole ritual and symbolism of the church. When I was 14, one of my first jobs was working on a Saturday at this metaphysical, New Age store in my town called Moonstones. They sold gemstones, candles and spell books about stuff like Wicca and paganism. I became really obsessed."

As he notes, that obsession coincided with a love of '90s TV series and movies like "Charmed," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "The Craft." "I recently saw this really funny meme that was '90s celestial core, and it's all just sun and moon pens, crystals and beaded curtains. I was like, 'That is me'. I like to think that's part of where that comes from.

"Obviously, I'm not the first person to mix religious iconography and pop music," he adds. "There's Madonna, the Pet Shop Boys, and of course Derek Jarman. As a gay artist, I've certainly grown up feeling that friction, in a sense, being at odds with what religion says I should be. Even though I didn't grow up in a super religious society, my school was Christian. So it's just present in my mind. I think songs are like spells and incantations — the words have meaning."