West End Girl, Lily Allen (7/10)

Wow. As probably everyone knows by now, Lily Allen dropped her latest album West End Girl on 10/24/25 w BMG Rights Management. The album immediately gained traction and a lot of buzz for its inside look and pretty scathing depiction of Stranger Things actor David Harbour, Allen's ex-husband. I have a core memory of being obsessed w "Smile" when I was in elementary school and listening to it as my (British) dad drove us to school in his convertible quite often. I haven't really thought about Lily Allen since then, and it took me a few weeks to get around to listening to this album bc I thought it'd be too poppy for me. Mimi actually posted a list of albums she's been enjoying, and this was on it, and that's what prompted me to finally listen. I was/am genuinely very impressed. Not only is the pop musically interesting and diverse and pretty good, but the writing and narrative she creates are so open and vulnerable and angry and brave.  The juxtaposition of the dancey pop music w the lyrics I think is awesome and really psychologically interesting as she depicts a pretty awful open relationship where Harbour lies, manipulates, and emotionally cheats. I think it's so contemporary and probably relatable to so many people in an era where non-monogamy is more popular and also sometimes weaponized. I loved it and, given Harbour's popularity and the imminent Stranger Things finale season, I applaud her for taking such a huge risk. Fav tracks: Relapse, Madeline, West End Girl