{"title":"Lala Lala","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLala Lala was an American drummer, percussionist, actor and voice actor. Born on November 3, 1947 in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, U.S., Lala Lala made significant contributions to the music industry before passing away on March 18, 2014 at the age of 66 in Tampa, Florida.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKnown for their unique style and talent, Lala Lala's music resonates with fans who appreciate artists like IAN SWEET, Free Cake For Every Creature, illuminati hotties and more. Their work has left a lasting impact on the industry and continues to inspire musicians today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a diverse range of skills and experiences in both music and acting, Lala Lala's legacy lives on through their memorable performances and contributions to various projects. Their dedication to their craft has solidified them as a respected figure in the world of music.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"i-want-the-door-to-open","title":"I Want The Door To Open","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollow-up to Lala Lala’s acclaimed 2018 sophomore album, The Lamb. Features contributions from Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie \/ The Postal Service, and a former tourmate of West), Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, poet Kara Jackson, Ohmme, Adam Schatz of Landlady, Sen Morimoto, Christian Lee Hutson, and Kaina Castillo. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I want total freedom, total possibility, total acceptance. I want to fall in love with the rock.” That’s how Lillie West describes the theme of “Diver,” the song she calls the thesis of Lala Lala’s third record, \u003ci\u003eI Want The Door To Open\u003c\/i\u003e. The rock in question is a reference to Sisyphus, the mythical figure doomed by the gods to forever push a boulder up from the depths of hell. To West, it is the perfect metaphor for, in her words, “the labor of living, of figuring out who you are, what's wrong with you, what's right with you.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eComing off of 2018’s acclaimed \u003ci\u003eThe Lamb\u003c\/i\u003e, an introspective indie rock album recorded live with a three-piece band, West knew she was ready to make something sonically bigger and thematically more outward-looking than anything she’d done before; a record that would be less a straightforward documentation of her own personal struggles and more like a poem or a puzzle box, with sonic and lyrical clues that would allow the listener to, as the title says, open the door to the greater meaning of those struggles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe result is \u003ci\u003eI Want The Door To Open\u003c\/i\u003e, a bold exploration of persona and presence from an artist questioning how to be herself fully in a world where the self is in constant negotiation. From the moment West declares “I want to look right into the camera” over a cascade of dreamy vocal loops on opening track “Lava,”\u003ci\u003e I Want The Door To Open\u003c\/i\u003e distinguishes itself from anything she’s done before in scope and intensity. The ultra-magnified iteration of Lala Lala is fully encapsulated in the monumental “Diver.” Inspired by a character from a Jennifer Egan novel, it’s a pop song of Kate Bush-esque proportions replete with layered synths and booming, wide open drumming by fellow Chicago musician Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, and West pushing her vocals to the ragged edge. \u003ci\u003eI Want The Door To Open\u003c\/i\u003e is a musical quest undertaken with the knowledge that the titular door may never open; but it is through falling in love with the quest itself that one may find the closest thing to total freedom, total possibility, and total acceptance available to us on this plane of existence.\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hardly Art","offers":[{"title":"Tape","offer_id":50446358511947,"sku":"1127413","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50446357856587,"sku":"1127409","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50446358184267,"sku":"1127412","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/659c6cca-9f5a-47fe-8046-dc9a96d9c596_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727058320"},{"product_id":"heaven-5","title":"Heaven 2","description":"\u003cp\u003eLillie West has always made her music in response to an itch to always be moving. But, as she recently experienced a burgeoning desire to settle down, she realized that steadiness can beget creativity. That evolution is what fuels much of her new album as Lala Lala, \u003cem\u003eHeaven 2\u003c\/em\u003e. For many years, West lived in Chicago, where she established Lala Lala as part of that city’s indie scene, releasing several records on the Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art. Those albums, The Lamb and I Want the Door to Open, were powerful statements from a curious artist: catchy guitar-pop songs about being stuck in the ups and downs of life, the struggle to stay sober, to leave town, to blow up your life. West left Chicago to search for more and, in the process, wrote her new album, \u003cem\u003eHeaven 2\u003c\/em\u003e. On her journey, she landed in New Mexico, where she lived off the grid in Taos. “It was very challenging, freezing, infested with poisonous animals. But it’s still the most beautiful and magical place I’ve ever been and I dream about it all the time,” West says. She then made her way to Iceland, where she lived for two years on and off, with the off being in London, where she grew up.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEventually, she made her way to Reykjavik and settled in with the music community and released an instrumental album (If I Were A Real Man I Would Be Able To Break The Neck Of A Suffering Bird) before heading to Los Angeles, where she has fallen in love and found herself settled. L.A. has been a good place to live, if for no other reason than, in West’s words, “wherever you go, there you are. I wish there was a cooler way to say that.” Fortunately, there are: This theme of finding beauty and fulfillment wherever one can permeates \u003cem\u003eHeaven 2\u003c\/em\u003e. On “Even Mountains Erode,” West sings, “There are symbols and signs, you're missing your life.” West encourages herself, and us, to slow down. To stop and smell the flowers. West produced the album with Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, who provides a strong punchiness as a bed for West’s warm, rounded vocals. The relationship between the two of them was telepathic, and the result is a bold and confident album. Duterte and West performed almost all of the album’s instruments, with a few crucial guests, like Sen Morimoto on saxophone on the opening track, “Car Anymore,” and a bridge written by Porches’ Aaron Maine on the title track, “Heaven 2.” Catharsis is not only about the pain, but the escape that happens when you free yourself of it. And so there are moments of bold joy on the album, too. “Arrow,” which samples the French electro pop band La Femme, moves fast, and its swiftness and pleasure feel like running towards something, not away. “None of this was supposed to happen,” West sings. But it did. “It’s such a basic spiritual thing,” West says, “Resistance is the root of all suffering, and I thought I could dictate the course of my life.” Of course, like everyone else, she could not. Wherever you go, there you are.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sub Pop","offers":[{"title":"LP - Crystal Clear (UK)","offer_id":56231267565899,"sku":"R5010-4921","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":56231267598667,"sku":"R5010-1680","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - Ocean Blue (US)","offer_id":56236137316683,"sku":"R5010-4850","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/LalaLala_Heaven_2_Cover_1500x1500_43f262da-77be-4415-a3b6-22f707482a8e.jpg?v=1767616656"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_1a91c462_thumbnail_4096_1fb310bf-2968-46e3-9f4c-6baa3aeae4fa.jpg?v=1727058285","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/lala-lala.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}