Recommended Albums #111

Lily Allen: West End Girl (2025)

Lily Allen returns after a seven-year musical hiatus with an emotionally direct–even blunt–breakup record.

In fact it’s so emotionally direct that we’ll make the editorial choice here of sparing you the more bruising (perhaps cringe-inducing) portions of the story, which details the demise of her relationship with American actor David Harbour.

The “palace” she refers to in multiple songs is a fairly accurate description of the house she and Harbour offered a tour of for Architectural Digest.

As a songwriter, Allen is gifted with the kind of cheeky sense of humor that can even make the emotional distress of a breakup into worthwhile entertainment, as she’s done on the highlights we include.

But the parts of the album one imagines were difficult to write can also be difficult to listen to repeatedly; the pain is almost too real at times.

Allen has experienced tragedy and trauma of many types in her life, and it seems much of her best work was made as a response to it.

Here’s hoping there’s lots of great music ahead–informed by happier times rather than chaos.

Listen to: “4Chan Stan”

Listen to: “Nonmonogamummy”

Listen to: “Just Enough”

Listen to: “Dallas Major”

Listen to: “Fruityloop”

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #641 | Every Moment Has A Song

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #167 | Every Moment Has A Song

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #505 | Every Moment Has A Song

Songs You May Have Missed #829

Pet Shop Boys: “I Get Along” (2002)

One may speculate that the title of Pet Shop Boys’ 2002 Release album is a reference to letting go of hipness for maturity.

Certainly their electronic disco pop sound–the one that made them seem like trend setters across the two previous decades–is muted here.

And the record’s lyrics generally reflect a more experienced, worldly point of view.

Where their previous album or two had seen them growing a bit stale, Release shows them reinventing themselves a bit for a new decade. And as it turns out, some of their best work was ahead of them.

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #636 | Every Moment Has A Song

See also: Recommended Albums #12 | Every Moment Has A Song

Songs You May Have Missed #828

Ruben Romero: “Fe (Faith)” (1997)

As the title of Ruben Romero’s Flamenco Southwest suggests, the virtuoso flamenco guitarist fuses the genre’s traditional Spanish technique with Native American traditions.

He’s collaborated with the Denver Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra and accompanied flamenco dancers in competitions.

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #128 | Every Moment Has A Song

Video of the Week: Jewel’s 2010 Undercover Karaoke Performance in Front of Dumbfounded Local Bar Patrons

Jewel, with a wig, glasses, fake nose and fake, uh, butt, performs Jewel songss in front of an unsuspecting karaoke audience at the appropriately-named Gaslite bar.

Songs You May Have Missed #827

The End of America: “Canyon” (2021)

Philly-area folk pop band The End of America take their name from Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and their three-part harmony, it would seem, from CSN.

No Depression magazine named their Night is Alive Best Alt Country Album of 2021.

Songs You May Have Missed #826

Tenpole Tudor: “Love and Food” (1981)

Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary’s corking “Swords of a Thousand Men” was backed with a catchy B-side in “Love and Food”.

The band sometimes performed in medieval garb, with lead singer Edward Tudor-Pole even donning a full suit of chain mail armour.

Their messy musical mayhem was a welcome rarity: punk music that sounded more like a party than impending fisticuffs.

“Love and Food”, if anything, owes more to the British pub rock movement than the Sex Pistols.

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #721 | Every Moment Has A Song

Previous Older Entries