Lily Allen describes her fifth studio album, West End Girl, as an angry record fueled by rage in a new interview with ELLE UK for its March cover story.
“I don’t think it’s particularly self-aware,” Allen told the magazine. “It’s much more about directing anger towards others. It wasn’t really aimed at self-reflection.”
She shared that the album was created during a challenging and traumatic period in her life, where she used music as a means to process her emotions.
“From this record, I think what I’ve learned is that rage is powerful and necessary,” Allen explained. “In fact, repressed rage can be more damaging.”
West End Girl came nearly two and a half years after Lily split from actor David Harbour in August 2023. Allen also acknowledged the positive reception from fans, saying it was good for her ego.
Allen also admitted to anxiety surrounding the release of such a personal record: “When I wrote this album, I spent about eight months being absolutely terrified of what would come back to me.”