west end girl | Every Moment Has A Song

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”