Lily Allen released her new album Oct. 24 titled ‘West End Girl,’ breaking her seven year musical hiatus — and she came back swinging.
The album follows Allen’s anger, heartbreak and confusion throughout the demolition of her marriage to ‘Stranger Things’ actor David Harbour, and while most artists vaguely hint at relationship issues, Allen made sure not to spare a single detail.
‘West End Girl’ not only lands as one of the most unique, unexpected and cohesive albums of the year, it also feels like having drinks with your friend whom you haven’t seen in months as she tells you every gasp-worthy aspect of her freshly-ended toxic relationship.
The album opens with a bang in its title track, “West End Girl,” a jazzy, Sex-and-the-City-esque ditty where Allen describes her marriage going south after she moved to London to star in a play. According to the song, which sets up the story for the entire record, Allen was reluctantly pressured into an open marriage over a phone call while she was away. The song’s climax is interrupted with a reenactment of this phone call: “It makes me really sad but / …I want you to be happy.”
From there, Allen catapults into a vicious unpacking of the tumultuous marriage. In the confrontational, Western standoff-style tune “Madeline,” she speaks to her husband’s mistress with whom he broke the rules of their open marriage: “It had to be with strangers / But you’re not a stranger, Madeline.” The song is perfected with Allen’s American-accented impersonation of “Madeline’s” text messages after the affair came to light.
“Pussy Palace” is a candid track describing the insatiable sex addiction and endless cheating of Allen’s then-husband — not to mention an immediate earworm. The song’s synth-y, fade-in introduction is suspiciously reminiscent of the theme song to a certain sci-fi Netflix show … Let’s just say if I were David Harbour, I wouldn’t want to show my face in public after this one.
Following “4chan Stan,” a cheeky, keyboard-heavy song chiding her ex (“What a sad, sad man,”) Allen dabbles in a hip-hop/reggae crossover with Specialist Moss on the spunky and upbeat “Nonmonogamummy,” creating what just might be my favorite track.
The clever play on words refers to her discomfort with her open marriage as she tries to meet the needs of her husband — “I’ll be your nonmonogamummy / I’m just trying to be open.”
Raw, heart-wrenching tracks like “Sleepwalking,” “Just Enough” and “Let You W/In” balance out the album’s anger and sass with soft melodies and confessional lyrics that emphasize Allen’s exhaustion, desperation and desire to be wanted by her partner, not understanding why she isn’t enough for him.
In the dreamy final track “Fruityloop,” Allen’s sweet, light tone packs a punch with the self-assured lyrics “It’s not me / It’s you,” her ethereal vocals and cutting lyrics easily placing the song in my top three.
Lily Allen’s album satisfies every requirement for a perfect record, and it’s hard to tell what’s better — ‘West End Girl’s’ composition, or its piping hot gossip.
