By Anna Geisler, Staff Writer
British singer-songwriter Lily Allen’s newest album, West End Girl, is a daunting exploration of gossip, heartbreak, and revenge. The cult-classic pop darling’s first project in almost seven years, Allen is eager to set the record straight on her own terms and through her own sound.
A Mystery Woman
Following a name-drop in the album’s third track, “Tennis,” Lily Allen now steadfastly addresses her lover’s mistress by name. Rather than blaming the assumed-mistress, Allen is instead desperate for information: “I know none of this is your fault, messaging you feels kind of assaultive / Saw your text, that’s how I found out, tell me the truth and his motives.” As the song unfolds, however, it becomes clear that a marriage once pure has been engulfed by scores of red flags and false promises.
With the arrival of the chorus comes the reveal of a set of boundaries, all of which broken by the extramarital relationship newly uncovered by Lily herself: “We had an arrangement (An arrangement) / Be discreet and don’t be blatant (Blatant) / And there had to be payment (Payment) / It had to be with strangers (Strangers) / But you’re not a stranger, Madeline.” And while the marriage was an open one, Allen came to understand that their promises went unrequited.
The single concludes with a seemingly artificially-remorseful rebuttal from Madeline herself, as if Allen was provided receipts of the interaction within the verses of her songwriting. The icing on the cake for the remainder of the album’s narrative, it becomes increasingly clear that all of Madeline’s deflection comes from a facade that Allen so clearly sees right through, with the closing lyric acting like an end to Valley Girl’s mantra: “Love and Light, Madeline.”
Gossip as Storytelling
Performed almost as poetic gossip, it’s clear the singer-songwriter wants the listener to feel as if they’re on the phone with a close confidant, examining the messiness of a relationship went sour. Playing to her strengths, Allen is incredibly successful in reeling in a nosy audience, especially in a society where so much of the media consumed revolves around the downfall and drama of parasocial relationships. In taking back the narrative surrounding the ways women are perceived when marriages erupt and affairs collapse, Lily Allen defines a new genre for the wronged and mistreated to reclaim their side of the story.
The West End Girl on Tour
While a North American tour is TBD, Allen will embark on a months’ long escapade across the United Kingdom— from Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall all the way down to the Palladium in London. A long-time festival headliner, devoted fans of the pop-rock darling can also most likely expect several high-profile events entering the summer season, stay tuned!
