When Lily Allen first posted her music on MySpace in 2005, people instantly fell in love with her clever use of irony and sarcastic rhymes on her troubling relationships and eccentric characters she’s witnessed living in London. Fast-forward 13 years Lily has just released her fourth album, No Shame. With more mature themes of motherhood and life in the public eye, listeners see a vulnerable and fragile side to the singer, yet, it still retains her iconic spoken-word style and synth beats.
Her social commentary on social media, shitty ex-boyfriends and sexism on her debut album, Alright, Still in 2006 not only inspired listeners, especially young women, to be outspoken but shaped pop discourse. Female artists didn’t have to sing about pleasing men or longing for their attention but could deliver sassy bars on disappointing sex seen in ‘Not Fair’ while wearing Nike trainers paired with floaty fuchsia dresses.
Her passion for feminism is clear from the beginning with her comments on the unrealistic body standards for women encouraged by gossip magazines in ‘Everything’s Just Wonderful’. Or, her exploration of female sexuality in ‘Not Big’ in which her refreshing criticisms of premature ejaculation and cheating boyfriends had never been heard so explicitly in pop before.
Labelled as egocentric and confusing, her career, however, hit a bump in the road in 2014 when she released her third album Sheezus. Critics believed that Lily was sending mixed messages by saying how the music industry is afraid of outspoken women but then appeared to poke fun out of famous female singers on the title track. Not only did the album feel contradictory but lacked the breezy beats and British humor seen in previous albums. Recently, Lily has expressed her dissatisfaction with the album and openly admitted that she “made a record for the record company”. It wasn’t all bad though as Sheezus included the chart-topping and delicately sweet ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ which featured on the John Lewis Christmas advert.
From mature lyrical themes of relationship breakdowns in ‘Higher’ to maternal guilt of missing out on her children’s childhood in ‘Three’, her latest album No Shame is an intimate and personal insight into the turbulent life of Lily Allen over the past 13 years.
Even though her music has taken a slower and sensitive route, there are still touches of the bold Lily we fell in love with in Alright, Still. She still knows how to deliver a sassy one-liner such as how she addresses lies created by the media in ‘Lost My Mind’: “Everyone’s on record saying that they know me, so why am I so lonely ‘cos nobody fucking phones me?”
Warm with soothing electronica and R&B percussion, No Shame, is tied together by Lily’s unmistakable voice. The latter, both languid and fierce, ensured that even slower tracks such as ‘Everything to Feel Something’, a personal insight into Lily’s battle with substance abuse, bristles with emotion.
What is so inspiring about Lily Allen is how she has never tried to hide her issues from the public. From her divorce, alcohol and substance abuse to her battle with social media she tackles and overcomes them through her music. Lily Allen may have hit some rocky patches in her career but her music has always remained passionate, smart, and honest.
One Beat Ahead 