“One of the most refreshing voices in indie.” — Paste

“An increasingly rare artist who sees indie pop as more than just wallpaper, Lala Lala has steadily built a discography that aims boldly for the heart.” — FADER

Lala Lala, the project of Lillie West, announces her new album and Sub Pop debut, Heaven 2, out February 27th, and a North American tour (on sale Jan. 9th). In conjunction, she releases two new singles, “Heaven2” and “Even Mountains Erode,” which follow the existential “Does This Go Faster?,” a tone setter for Heaven 2 which “glimmers with champagne-bubbly synths and percussion” (FLOOD). 

West has always made her music in response to an itchiness to always be moving, but as she developed a burgeoning desire to settle, she found the surprise realization that steadiness can beget creativity. That evolutionary tension is what fuels Heaven 2. The album was co-produced by West and Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, who provides a strong punchiness as a bed for West’s warm, rounded vocals. Duterte and West performed almost all of the album’s instruments with a few crucial guests, including Sen Morimoto, Macie Stewart and Porches’ Aaron Maine. 

For many years, West lived in Chicago, where she established Lala Lala as an integral part of the city’s indie scene, releasing two albums – The Lamb (2018) and I Want the Door to Open (2021) – on the Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art. They were powerful statements from a curious artist: catchy guitar-pop songs about being stuck in the ups and downs of life, the struggle to stay sober, to leave town, to blow up your life. 

West left Chicago to search for more, and in the process, wrote Heaven 2. On her journey, she landed off the grid in Taos, New Mexico, then made her way to Iceland, where she lived on and off for two years, with the off being in London, where she grew up. Following a residency in a tiny Icelandic town, she made her way to Reykjavik and released an instrumental album, If I Were A Real Man I Would Be Able To Break The Neck Of A Suffering Bird (2024), and finally headed to Los Angeles, where she has, almost surprisingly, fallen in love and found herself settled. It’s been a good place to live, not because she particularly likes or dislikes L.A., but because she’s discovered that, as she puts it, “wherever you go, there you are.” This sentiment permeates throughout Heaven 2. 

Take “Even Mountains Erode” in which West sings about how it’s ultimately okay to be on one’s own: “There are symbols and signs, you’re missing your life // You’re under a threat, that you can’t feel yet // And if you need to be free, I don’t see what you see // But I’m not opposed // Even mountains erode.” And the melodramatic “Heaven2,” written at a time of feeling defeated. West’s vocals build like a cloud swelling before a storm, synths sweep across the song, the drums patter like raindrops on a car roof, and then the whole sky opens up, with a massive instrumental outro taken straight from the demo. 

Watch the Video for “Even Mountains Erode”

Listen to “Heaven2”

Catharsis is not only about the pain, but the escape that happens when you free yourself of it. And so there are moments of bold joy on the album, too. “Resistance is the root of all suffering, and I did not know that,” says West. “I thought that I could dictate the course of my life.” Of course, like everyone else, she could not. Wherever you go, there you are.

Heaven 2 is now available to preorder on CD/LP/all DSPs from Sub Pop. LPs purchased from megamart.subpop.com, MegaMart Europe in the UK + EU, and your local record store, will receive the limited Loser Edition on Ocean Blue (NA) and  Crystal Clear (UK/EU) vinyl, while supplies last.

Pre-Order Heaven 2

Heaven 2 Tracklist

1. Car Anymore

2. Even Mountains Erode

3. Arrow

4. Tricks

5. Scammer

6. Heaven2

7. Anywave

8. Does This Go Faster?

9. This City

10. Wyoming Dirt

Lala Lala Tour Dates

Fri. March 6 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah %

Sat. March 7 - Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy + Harriett’s %

Sun. March 8 - Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress %

Tue. March 10 - Austin, TX @ 29th St. Ballroom %

Wed. March 11 - Dallas, TX @ Rubber Gloves %

Fri. March 13 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall %

Sun. March 15 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court %

Tue. March 17 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall %

Wed. March 18 - Seattle, WA @ Baba Yaga %

Fri. March 20 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord %

Sat. March 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room %

Tue. March 31 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd*

Wed April 1 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings*

Thu. April 2 - Asheville, NC @ Eulogy*

Fri. April 3 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade Altar*

Sat. April 4 - Nashville, TN @ Blue Room @ Third Man*

Tue. April 7 - Minneapolis, MN @ Zhora Darling*

Wed. April 8 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club*

Thu. April 9 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall*

Fri. April 10 - Detroit, MI @ Lager House*

Sat. April 11 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison*

Sun. April 12 - Montreal, CA @ L’Esco*

Tue. April 14 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair*

Wed. April 15 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA*

Thu. April 16 - New York, NY @ Nightclub 101*

Fri. April 17 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right*

% = w/ lots of hands

* = w/ mother soki