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Lala Lala
Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

THE MATERIAL that Lillie West writes for Lala Lala takes something of a Marie Kondo approach to de cluttering.

Short and concise, it keeps the bare essentials of a song and disposes of nearly all extraneous instruments or solo passages. Heavily influenced by the 1990s indie grunge of Nirvana and Weezer, her three-piece touring band adopt a loud and quiet structure that allows cracks of sparkly hope to shine through the depression.

This approach also extends to the Chicago-based musician's minimalistic lyrics. Lala Song is effectively a bummed-out repeat of the lines: “I’m not even listening/You’re not even nothing,” over a persistent guitar line that gets progressively louder.

Fuck With Your Friends, meanwhile, wastes no energy on diplomacy when West brattishly declares: “I drink more than I want to/Because it makes you easier to talk to.”

It’s a fitting sound for someone who’s applied the decluttering approach to other areas of her life. After the release of 2016’s Sleepyhead she gave up drink and assumed more personal responsibility and this journey is detailed with brutal honesty on last year’s The Lamb, from which she draws heavily during this 12-song set.

The experience of getting clean also seems to have brought some sense of calm. New track Siren 042 is the prettiest and most popcentric West’s ever been, while set closer See You at Home ends with a meandering sax solo and signs of a more optimistic future as she quietly announces: “I release you.”