Artists You Should Know: Lala Lala Translates Rock into Electronic Music on New Album ‘Heaven 2’

Traveling has always been normal for Lillie West, but on her new album, Heaven 2, the singer-songwriter known as Lala Lala is at a crossroads with her career marked by a new signing with Sub Pop. In support of the new album, Lala Lala will join Death Cab for Cutie on tour and headline several solo shows, including a date in LA at Lodge Room on March 21.

The road to Heaven 2 took West across the world. Born in California, West grew up in London until she was 12, when she returned to LA. However, it was in Chicago where the Lala Lala project was born.

There, she released her albums The Lamb and I Want the Door to Open, both of which firmly placed West in the indie rock sphere and marked the beginning of her relationship with Sub Pop via its Hardly Art imprint. But it wasn’t until she left Chicago, going through Taos, Iceland, and London before settling in LA again, that what would become Heaven 2 took shape.

In that time, West realized that constant back-and-forth between locations was not the only source of inspiration for her. Although most of her songwriting was at least partially inspired by her many moves over the years, settling down in LA for Heaven 2 showed West a different yet still productive way to gather life experiences for songwriting.

The majority of Heaven 2 amplifies previous flirtations with electronic production, making it a significant yet natural shift for West. At the same time, the tracklist, when compared to 2019’s “Siren 042,” a dreamy, moody musing on self-sabotage that remains West’s biggest song to date, maintains those introspective lyrics that define Lala Lala as a project.

“Even Mountains Erode” hypnotizes with its drums and atmospheric synths that twinkle throughout. The song at first sounds like it could be a trip-hop cut buried in the ’90s, albeit utilizing an alt-pop approach rather than strictly beat machines.

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But by the second half, the marriage between that unlikely source of inspiration and West’s brooding indie rock energy exemplifies how smoothly the transition into Heaven 2 is. The same could be said for other songs off the album, such as “Anywave” and “This City.” The latter is easy to imagine as another brooding indie rock track, but is reborn with synths that carry over the same sense of dread.

Although Heaven 2 is a departure from West’s usual forte, it successfully translates her established sound and highlights her songwriting more than ever. A project made from settling down rather than being on the move is her most stylistically distinct and reveals her talents.

Heaven 2 by Lala Lala is out on streaming services. For more on new music and tickets to her tour, including an LA date at Lodge Room on March 21 and shows with Death Cab for Cutie, follow her on her Bandcamp and social media.

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