Lily Allen describes West End Girl as an angry album full of rage.
Lily, 40, recently reflected on the emotional intensity behind her fifth studio album, West End Girl, in a new interview with ELLE UK for the March cover story.
“I don’t think it’s a particularly self-conscious record,” Allen told the magazine. “It’s much more about anger directed at other people. It’s not really about self-reflection.”
She said the album was made during a challenging and traumatic time in her life, which led her to use music as a tool to process her emotions.
“I think if it taught me anything about myself, it’s that anger is powerful and necessary, and expressing it isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Allen explained. “In fact, suppressed anger is demonstrably more harmful.”
West End Girl comes almost two and a half years after her split from actor David Harbour, when the exes announced their separation in August 2023. Allen also acknowledged the positive reception from fans, saying, “I don’t know if it’s great for the soul, but it’s good for the ego.”
She also shared the fear that came with releasing such a personal record. “When I wrote this album, I was absolutely terrified of what was coming back for about eight months,” Allen said.
