Ahead of Her Seattle Tour Date, We Talked to Lala Lala’s Lillie West About Her Earliest Musical Loves by Audrey Vann

Over the last five years, Lillie West (aka Lala Lala) has lived in a stark range of landscapes, from bustling Chicago to the extreme high and low temperatures of rural Taos, New Mexico, then to Seyðisfjörður, Iceland (where the sun never rose in the winter), before finally settling in Los Angeles. This constant itch for movement, complicated by a quiet yearning to settle, is what fueled her Sub Pop Records debut, Heaven 2. From the very start of the album’s opening track, “Car Anymore,” the album accelerates with ’90s club-style piano that gives the overall feeling of forward motion. It’s easy to imagine an aimless night drive while this album blares out the car windows. The delightfully late-’90s sound continues through the album on “Even Mountains Erode” and “Does This Go Faster?,” which gives me glimmers of Dido and Madonna’s Ray of Light. However, West’s sound is far from a mirror of the past—her breathy vocals and intricately layered synths remind me of the coolest-of-cool pop girls like Lorde, Tirzah, and US Girls. Before her local tour stop at Baba Yaga this Wednesday, I asked West to share some of her earliest musical loves in another edition of First Times. 

What was the first album you bought? Where and when did you buy it?
I believe it was Sunshineby S Club 7. I bought it at WH Smith in Witney, England. 

What was the first song you sang in front of people?
“Mad World,” the Gary Jules version. I sang it at a school talent show. (Shocker, I did not win.)

What was the first instrument you played, and what was the first song you learned?
I played the flute when I was a child, but I also remember being taught "Wild Thing" on an acoustic guitar when I was pretty young.

What was the first song that made you cry?
Honestly, I can't remember at all! Maybe the theme to The Snowman? 

Who was the first musician you idolized?
I was obsessed with David Bowie as a tween. 

See Lala Lala with Lots of Hands at Baba Yaga on Mar 18, 8 pm, 21+.