Every time a big artist drops a new album, fans avidly try to decode each song to work out exactly who and what it’s about. In the case of Lily Allen’s new album, however, no decoding is needed – she narrates the breakdown of her marriage, laying out exactly what went down through explicit descriptions about every event that unfurled.
The album is successful on so many levels. Musically, its varied and complex; lyrically it tells a story that engages and consumes us; and whilst the exact experiences she had may not be something we can all say we’ve been through, there are certainly many relatable elements to what she sings. The 14-song album tells from her perspective the story of how her reluctant acceptance of her husband’s request for an open marriage ultimately culminated in the destruction of their entire relationship. She suggests in the first song that his resentment towards her is triggered when she receives news that she’s been offered the part in a play in London without needing to audition. She then moves on her own back to London (hence the title ‘West End Girl’), where she receives a call from him in which he tells her that he wants an open marriage. Whilst it’s clear that this news wrecks her, she reluctantly agrees in the interest of making him happy and they set down their rules. We are bluntly told the terms of this agreement in one of the songs (Madeleine): ‘We had an arrangement, Be discreet and don’t be blatant, There had to be payment, It had to be with strangers’ – yet it becomes clear as the album progresses that her husband violates the terms of their agreement, beginning an emotional affair with a woman who is not a stranger – the mysterious ‘Madeleine’ who is repeatedly referenced in various songs. The album continues, narrating her reactions and emotions, inviting us to feel her pain, loneliness and devastation.
Each song has a distinctly different feel, with some mirroring the hyper-pop Charli XCX-type production whilst others sound melodically soothing, almost as though they were a lullaby. There is brilliance to every song on the album, but I think the latter are more indicative of Lily’s genius songwriting. She somehow manages to repackage the dark emotions evoked by the breakdown of her marriage as light-hearted, innocent melodies. She’s authentically herself, singing in her distinct West-London accent, being raw whilst witty.
Upon its release, the album blew up on TikTok and has elicited a lot of discourse. Former videos and interactions between Lily and her then husband have resurfaced and been analysed by fans trying to pick out the dynamics of their relationship. Similar media frenzies are sometimes provoked by artists, like Taylor Swift, but I think what makes this album particularly unique is that Lily is so deeply detailed in her account of everything, leaving nothing to the imagination. The world loves a bit of media drama, so having it all laid out for us tends to satisfy the curious gossip-chasers online. The fact that it was released right before the Stranger Things press tour also adds fuel to the fire, as the cheating husband-in-question is none other than David Harbour, who plays a lead role in the Netflix series. Thus, it seems there was some cunning intention behind Lily’s release of an album that wrecks his reputation right before the release of the new series of Stranger Things.
The album is more than just a source of gossip, though. It’s her cathartic way of taking back control over a situation where she felt that she had none. She is shamelessly honest, and in doing so, she reclaims power over the situation, demonstrating how to turn devastation into something brilliant, brutal and bold.