Chicago-based musician Lillie West, better known as Lala Lala, has finally announced her new album. It’s been something of a wait since 2018’s underrated, rugged delight, The Lamb.
To say the least, her latest effort, titled I Want The Door To Open (due out October 8), is something special, with West opening herself to collaboration unlike ever before. The album boasts numerous guests, including poet Kara Jackson, OHMME, Adam Schatz of Landlady, Sen Morimoto, Christian Lee Hutson, Kaina Castillo, Meg Duffy, Will Miller, Gia Margaret, Josiah Wolf and Ben Gibbard. Of the album, she says:
“I Want The Door To Open’s a musical quest undertaken with the knowledge that the titular door may never open; but it is through falling in love with the quest itself that one may find the next closest thing. It’s a bold exploration of persona and presence from an artist questioning how to be herself fully in a world where the self is in constant negotiation.”
The project’s first offering, “DIVER”, was both a natural and very conscious choice for West, with her explaining why bluntly: the track is, “the thesis of the album,” inspired by the novel Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. The track is also a serious evolution, an epic – yes, indeed – pop song complete with yearning synths, gorgeous backing vocals, epic drumming from Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, and a soaring, powerhouse performance from West herself at its very center.
Expanding on the song and the project in general, West reflects, “I want total freedom, total possibility, total acceptance. I want to fall in love with the rock [aka the rock from the myth of Sisyphus]… I think it’s easy to feel like we keep making the same mistakes over and over again, that we’re Sisyphus. The key is falling in love with the labor of walking up the mountain.“
Check out the sprawling pop tune below.
I Want The Door To Open comes out on October 8 through Hardly Art (pre-order/save). Follow Lala Lala on Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
She’s also got these dates ahead:
Oct 8 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall w/ Unannounced Special Guest & Kara Jackson
Oct 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room w/ Fashion Club
Oct 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Salt Cathedral & Crosslegged
Jan 27 – Paradiso Noord – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Jan 28 – Vera – Groningen, Netherlands
Jan 29 – Cactus @ Villa Bota – Brugge, Belgium
Jan 30 – Botanique (Rotonde) – Brussels, Belgium
Feb 01 – Bumann & SOHN – Köln, Germany
Feb 02 – Kantine am Berghain – Berlin, Germany
Feb 03 – Molotow – Hamburg, Germany
Feb 05 – Oceanen – Göteborg, Sweden
Feb 06 – Internasjonalen – Oslo, Norway
Feb 07 – Hus 7 – Stockholm, Sweden
Feb 08 – Plan B – Malmö, Sweden
Feb 09 – Vega @ Ideal Bar – Copenhagen, Denmark
Feb 11 – Underdogs’ – Prague, Czech Republic
Feb 12 – Club Manufaktur – Schorndorf, Germany
Feb 13 – Swamp – Freiburg, Germany
Feb 14 – L’Amalgame – Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
Feb 16 – Rote Fabrik – Zürich, Switzerland
Feb 17 – Festival Hors-Pistes – Annecy, FR
Feb 18 – Aérogare – Metz, France
Feb 19 – l’Aéronef – Lille, France
Feb 20 – The Green Door Store – Brighton, United Kingdom
Feb 21 – Moth Club – London, United Kingdom
Feb 23 – Hyde Park Book Club – Leeds, United Kingdom
Feb 24 – Nice N Sleazy – Glasgow, United Kingdom
Feb 25 – YES – Manchester, United Kingdom
Feb 26 – Strange Brew – Bristol, United Kingdom
Feb 28 – La Boule Noire – Paris, France
