Lala Lala, the project of Lillie West, releases “Arrow,” the fourth single/video from her new album and Sub Pop debut, Heaven 2, out February 27th. “Arrow” marks a moment of bold joy, capturing the escape that happens when one is freed from pain. The song samples French electro-pop band La Femme and moves fast – its swiftness and pleasure feel like running towards something, not away. “None of this was supposed to happen,” West sings, as the song races away from her. “It’s such a basic spiritual thing,” West reflects. “Resistance is the root of all suffering, and I did not know that. 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.
“Arrow” follows “Heaven2,” the “haunting, vocal-and-synth exercise that slowly morphs into a dazzling and funky R&B slow jam,” (FLOOD) the “cosmic” (Stereogum) “Even Mountains Erode,” and the “exquisite” (Stereogum) lead single, “Does This Go Faster?.”
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, Iceland, and London. 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.
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.
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. Lala Lala will embark on a North American tour next month and will support Death Cab for Cutie for two dates in August.
“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.
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.
“Lala Lala’s songs needle and probe: they’re emotional, sure, but they’re also exacting, and that’s why they can feel so visceral.” - The FADER
Lala Lala, the project of Lillie West, announces her signing to Sub Pop and releases the new single/video, “Does This Go Faster?.” Set against a backdrop awash in synths and distorted drum beats, “Does This Go Faster?” is existential and propulsive. With airy vocals, West sings: “Nothing on earth is free // Even in ecstasy // Hell is the day after the party // Nothing on earth is free // Oblivion seems heavenly, but // Hell is the day after the party.” The song was co-produced by West (vocals, guitar, synths) and Melina Duterte (bass, synthesizers, guitar), and features Abby Black on drums and Sen Morimoto on saxophone. It’s the first taste of new music from Lala Lala since the release of 2024’s instrumental album, if i were a real man i would be able to break the neck of a suffering bird, and the first vocal track since the 2023 singles “HIT ME WHERE IT HURTS” and “Armida.”
Commenting on the song, West says, “I blew up my life and spent two years with my things in storage, traveling around. I wrote this in Iceland during the time I started to feel a little like… What did I do? What happened? What now?” The song’s accompanying video was directed by Jackson James.
On the heels of a packed Millennium Park Summer Music Series concert in August, Lala Lala will support Current Joys on their North American tour, kicking off on Saturday. A full list of dates is below.
