Lily Allen has confirmed the release of her fifth studio album West End Girl, landing this Thursday, October 24. It’s her first album in seven years, following 2018’s ‘No Shame’, and if her own words are anything to go by, it’s shaping up to be her most emotionally raw record yet.
The album was written and recorded in a tight ten-day sprint in Los Angeles last December, with finishing touches added in London and New York earlier this year. Helping bring it to life were Blue May (longtime collaborator and musical director), along with executive producers Seb Chew and Kito. A small, tight unit, which probably helped keep things honest.
Allen hasn’t given much away in terms of sound or singles just yet, but she’s made one thing clear: this isn’t a polished pop comeback. “I’m nervous,” she said, “The record is vulnerable in a way that my music perhaps hasn’t been before, certainly not over the course of a whole album.” That’s a strong statement from someone who’s never exactly been guarded on record.
She goes on to say the album reflects her time in a new city, and the personal mess that got her there:
“Why we humans behave as we do.” It’s described as a mix of fact and fiction, which suggests she’s not playing this one straight down the middle. Instead, expect blurred lines, character sketches, maybe even some emotional misdirection.
“At the same time, I’ve used shared experiences as the basis for songs which try to delve into why we humans behave as we do, so the record is a mixture of fact and fiction which I hope serves as a reminder of how stoic yet also how frail we humans can be. In that respect I think it’s very much an album about the complexities of relationships and how we all navigate them. It’s a story.”
In many ways, this feels like a natural extension of ‘No Shame’. That record ditched the big hooks and leaned into something more intimate… divorce, addiction, parenthood. All handled with a kind of resigned honesty. But even then, Allen never fully dropped the armour. This time, it sounds like she might be leaving it at the door.
It’s also worth pointing out the speed at which West End Girl came together. Ten days to write and record a full album is intense, even for someone as sharp as Allen. That time pressure could mean a looser, more instinctive sound.
We could see this record with less focus on the radio edit, more about capturing a mood.
There’s no official tracklist yet, and no promo single in sight, which makes the whole thing feel pleasingly uncalculated, and very characteristic of Lily Allen.
No campaign, no rollout, just the music.
West End Girl’ is out October 24. You can pre-order it here
