Lala Lala is the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

project of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based songwriter Lillie West (guitar, vocals).

Biography

Lillie West was raised in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and moved with her family to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

when she was a teenager. She would soon relocate to Chicago to attend the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

and become involved with the city's underground music scene. A long time fan of music, it wasn't until West began college that she would begin to create music of her own after being encouraged by a friend to purchase a guitar from

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark ...

. According to her IMDb page, she has performed roles in films of her father, the Tomb Raider and Con Air director

Simon West Simon Alexander West (born 1961) is an English film director and producer. He has primarily worked in the action genre, most notably as the director of the films ''Con Air'', '' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'', '' The Mechanic'', and ''The Expendab ...

, while growing up

Lillie described being the acclaimed filmmakers daughter to Paper Magazine in a 2018 interview, “My dad is a filmmaker, and he has filmed pretty much every moment of my life from when I was born.�

Career

Lala Lala's debut album, ''Sleepyhead'', was self-released in 2016 and was followed up by their sophomore album titled ''The Lamb'', which was released in September 2018 on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

imprint

Hardly Art Hardly Art is an American independent record label based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in early 2007 by Sub Pop Records, Hardly Art is run by three full-time employees and is distributed by the Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) and Sub Pop ...

. Upon the announcement of the band's second album,

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

gave Lala Lala the prestigious recognition of "Band to Watch" in July 2018. The release of Lala Lala's sophomore album, ''The Lamb'', was met with favorable reviews by various notable publications, including

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

, whose review by Steven Arroyo states that "On her second album, Lillie West retains the charming simplicity of her songs, but she finds new depth as a songwriter as she explores the act of standing up to herself," awarding the album with a high numerical score as well. In January 2019, Lala Lala released a single titled "Siren 042," a collaboration with

Yoni Wolf Jonathan Avram "Yoni" Wolf (born April 30, 1979) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock musician and co-founder of the record label Anticon. From 1997 until 2004, Wolf released music under the stage name Why?. In 2004 he transferred t ...

, frontman of the American band WHY?, which was premiered on

the Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

and was reviewed well by music outlets. A writer for

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, Adelaide Sandstrom, praises the collaboration, "Siren 042," writing that the song displays West's "ability to offset sharp lyricism with shimmering guitar and singalong-worthy vocal refrains." In March 2019, Lala Lala set out on a nationwide tour opening for the

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, the Faint (previously named Norman Bailer), Commander Venu ...

and

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, ''Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and ''Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical acclaim ...

duo

Better Oblivion Community Center Better Oblivion Community Center is an American indie rock superduo consisting of musicians Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers. They released their self-titled debut album on January 24, 2019, through Dead Oceans. Background Oberst and Bridgers ...

. Later in 2019, Lala Lala opened for

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...

on their U.S. Summer tour. It was announced that in July 2019, Lala Lala will perform at the

Music Festival in Chicago

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Sleepyhead'' (2016, self-released) * '' The Lamb'' (2018,

) * ''I Want the Door to Open'' (2021,

)

EPs

* ''Lala Lala'' (2014, self-released) * ''Have a Good Day'' (2015, self-released)

Singles

* "Siren 042" featuring WHY? (January 11, 2019) * "Legs, Run" (January 21, 2020) * "Fantasy Movie" b/w Valentine featuring

Grapetooth Grapetooth is a Chicago-based new wave-influenced duo. The project, which consists of Clay Frankel and Chris Bailoni, was started in 2015. Career Twin Peaks member Clay Frankel and Chris Bailoni, also known as Chicago producer Home-sick, met in ...

(February 12, 2020) * "€ € € €^^%%!!!!!heaven!!!!!!" featuring Baths (July 24, 2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lala Lala Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American indie pop musicians School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Musicians from London Musicians from Chicago Musicians from Los Angeles British emigrants to the United States 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American women musicians American women guitarists American women singer-songwriters American expatriates in England Feminist musicians Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Illinois