After a seven-year-long wait, Lily Allen's much-anticipated new album West End Girl has finally dropped this Friday 24 October — and it's set social media alight with people asking if this is just borne out of her pain at the breakdown of the singer's marriage to actor David Harbour or if it's closer to reality.
Marital betrayal, a failed open marriage and dealing with rejection and abandonment are core themes of the searing intimate new album, which critics are interpreting as a ‘gobsmacking autopsy’ and ‘intensely personal’.
The lyrics on West End Girl are direct and heart-wrenching in signature Lily style. “We had an arrangement. Be discreet and don't be blatant. There had to be payment. It had to be with strangers. But you're not a stranger, Madeline", writes Lily on Madeline. Neither Lily or David have ever commented publicly on the rumours or the reasons for their marriage breakdown, but could this be a direct shot at David Harbour's rumoured lover? It's still to be confirmed whether Madeline is the woman's real name — Lily could be taking a leaf out of Beyonce's book, a la 'Becky with the good hair'.
She then goes on to roleplay ‘Madeline’, adopting a lilting American accent as she narrates a (potentially fictional) conversation between a wife and her husband's mistress:
"Hey, hе is telling you the truth (Madelinе)
Our relationship has only ever been about sex
I can promise you that this is not an emotional connection (Madeline)
We don't speak outside of the time we spend together (Madeline)
And whenever he talks about you, it's with the upmost respect."
Lily has clarified that the lyrics aren't meant to be interpreted as the uncontested truth, and Harbour hasn't commented publicly on the allegations. “There are things that are on the record that I experienced within my marriage, but that’s not to say that it’s all gospel,” she told British Vogue. “It is inspired by what went on in the relationship.”
In Pussy Palace, she lays bare the shock of someone discovering a partner's double life as a ‘sex addict’, describing coming home to find out they have been cheating. She sings:
"I found a shoebox full of handwritten letters
From brokenhearted women wishing you could have been better
Sheets pulled off the bed, the strunel on the floor
Long black hair, probably from the night before
Duane Reade bag with the handles tied
Sex toys, butt plugs, lube inside
Hundreds of Trojans, you're so fucking broken
How'd I get caught up in your double life?"
Musically, the album is an earworm, produced in a hyper-pop way with creative use of autotune, garage beats and synth that'll draw in fans of Charli XCX and Pink Pantheress. It features 14 songs, which were written by Lily and her musical director, Blue May, and was produced by Seb Chew and Kito. The cover art features a painting of Lily sporting a blue puffer jacket and her signature jet black baby bangs by Spanish artist Nieves González.
“I've come a long way”
Despite the heartache, the whole ordeal of a very public divorce and subsequent stay in a residential rehab centre appears to have provided Lily with the creative fuel to write and record again, following an extended break from her music career. West End Girl is her first album release since 2018's No Shame, an album that was described as ‘uninspiring', but which contained that lightning-in-a-bottle lyricism and commitment to authenticity that Lily is best known for.
Speaking to Vogue, Lily says that, though the trauma almost caused her to relapse, she's in a space of acceptance. “I'm not really in the same space that I was in when I wrote [these] songs. I have come a long way”, she says. Meditation, therapy, antidepressants, working with a sponsor and starring in a new play have helped her pull through and given her an outlet to “express my rage”.
The musician turned actor talks sobriety, social media and settling down with her Stranger Things husband, David Harbour.
The album seems to be achieving positive reviews from both fans and critics, with TikTok users rallying in support of the singer. If we were David Harbour, we'd be staying indoors for the forseeable…
Lily Allen's new album West End Girl is available to stream on Spotify now.
