Lala Lala, the project of Chicago-based musician Lillie West, will release her new album, I Want The Door To Open, this Friday on Hardly Art. Today, she presents a mesmerizing new video, for new single and album closer, “Utopia Planet.” Amorphous synth elevates West’s surging voice and later, saxophone by Sen Morimoto blooms as a recording of West’s grandmother unfurls across the track. It is the fitting end to the inner labyrinth that West maps on I Want The Door To Open, 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. The video, created by Meggie van Zwieten, is in step with the digital aesthetic presented on the album cover.
“‘Utopia Planet’ was born because my friend Kara Jackson and I challenged each other to write a song about Utopia,” says West. “I tried to imagine a great expanse, abundance, an open door. It's an invitation to surrender. I used a recording of my grandmother to take you further into another world."
Following 2018’s acclaimed The Lamb, West wanted to make something sonically bigger and thematically more outward-looking than anything she’d done before; a record that would be 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. The resulting I Want The Door To Open is 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.
To celebrate the release of I Want The Door To Open, West will play a string of shows, including a release day performance at Chicago’s Thalia Hall this Friday and Los Angeles and New York dates later this month. Following a European run in early 2022, West will return stateside and continue to tour.
Lala Lala Tour Dates
Fri. Oct. 8 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
Wed. Oct. 13 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room ^
Wed. Oct. 20 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg!
Thu. Jan. 27, 2022 - Amsterdam, NE @ Paradiso Noord
Fri. Jan. 28, 2022 - Groningen, NE @ Vera
Sat. Jan. 29, 2022 - Brugge, BE @ Cactus at Villa Bota
Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique (Rotonde)
Tue. Feb. 1, 2022 - Köln, DE @ Baumann & SOHN
Wed. Feb. 2, 2022 - Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain
Thu. Feb. 3, 2022 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
Sat. Feb. 5, 2022 - Göteborg, SE @ Oceanen
Sun. Feb. 6, 2022 - Oslo, NO @ Internasjonalen
Mon. Feb. 7, 2022 - Stockholm, SE @ Hus 7
Tue. Feb. 8, 2022 - Malmö, SE @ Plan B
Wed. Feb. 9, 2022 - Copenhagen, DK @ Vega at Ideal Bar
Fri. Feb. 11, 2022 - Prague, CZ @ Underdogs’
Sat. Feb. 12, 2022 - Schorndorf, DE @ Club Manufaktur
Sun. Feb. 13, 2022 - Freiburg, DE @ Swamp
Mon. Feb. 14, 2022 - Yverdon-les-Bains, CH @ L’Amalgame
Wed. Feb. 16, 2022 - Zürich, CH @ Rote Fabrik
Thu. Feb. 17, 2022 - Annecy, FR @ Festival Hors-Pistes
Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 - Metz, FR @ Aérogare
Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 - Lille, FR @ l’Aéronef
Sun. Feb. 20, 2022 - Brighton, UK @ Green Door Store
Mon. Feb. 21, 2022 - London, UK @ Moth Club
Wed. Feb. 23, 2022 - Leeds, UK @ Hyde Park Book Club
Thu. Feb. 24, 2022 - Glasgow, UK @ Nice N Sleazy
Fri. Feb. 25, 2022 - Manchester, UK @ YES
Sat. Feb. 26, 2022 - Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
Mon. Feb. 28, 2022 - Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire
Sat. Mar. 12 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Mon. Mar. 14 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Tue. Mar. 15 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Wed. Mar. 16 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Fri. Mar. 18 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile (Second Stage)
Sat. Mar. 19 - Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
Sun. Mar. 20 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Tue. Mar. 22 - Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
Fri. Mar. 25 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Sat. Mar. 26 - Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Sun. Mar. 27 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Mon. Mar. 28 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Wed. Mar. 30 - Austin, TX @ The Parish
Thu. Mar. 31 - Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips
Sat. Apr. 2 - Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI
Sun. Apr. 3 - Milwaukee, WI @ Colectivo Coffee
Wed. Apr. 13 - Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
Thu. Apr. 14 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
Fri. Apr. 15 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
Sat. Apr. 16 - Urbana, IL @ Rose Bowl Tavern
Sun. Apr. 17 - Nashville, TN @ High Watt
Tue. Apr. 19 - Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
Wed. Apr. 20 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
Fri. Apr. 22 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
Sat. Apr. 23 - Woodstock, NY @ Colony
Sun. Apr. 24 @ Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Wed. Apr. 27 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Thu. Apr. 28 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
Fri. Apr. 29 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Sat. Apr. 30 - Hamtramck, MI @ Outer Limits Lounge
* = w/ Divino Niño & Kara Jackson
^ = Baths (DJ Set) & Fashion Club
! = Salt Cathedral & Crosslegged
hardly_art i_want_the_door_to_open lala_lala utopia_planet