Heaven 2 (Vinyl LP, Ocean Blue)

Lillie West has always made her music in response to an itch to always be moving. But, as she recently experienced a burgeoning desire to settle down, she realized that steadiness can beget creativity. That evolution is what fuels much of her new album as Lala Lala, Heaven 2.

For many years, West lived in Chicago, where she established Lala Lala as part of that city’s indie scene, releasing several records on the Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art. Those albums, The Lamb and I Want the Door to Open, were powerful statements from a curious artist: catchy guitar-pop songs about being stuck in the ups and downs of life, the struggle to stay sober, to leave town, to blow up your life.

West left Chicago to search for more and, in the process, wrote her new album, Heaven 2. On her journey, she landed in New Mexico, where she lived off the grid in Taos. “It was very challenging, freezing, infested with poisonous animals. But it’s still the most beautiful and magical place I’ve ever been and I dream about it all the time,” West says. She then made her way to Iceland, where she lived for two years on and off, with the off being in London, where she grew up.

Tracklist