A deeply introspective and noisy Chicago-based indie rock project led by singer/songwriter Lillie West, Lala Lala rose from playing basements in the underground D.I.Y. scene to signing with Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art for their 2018 sophomore album The Lamb. Born in London, England, but raised during her teenage years in Los Angeles, West eventually headed to Chicago where she was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She became ingrained in the city’s D.I.Y. music community and formed Lala Lala in 2015, using her songs as a means of processing her experiences and emotions. Harsh, raw, and decidedly lo-fi, the band’s self-released 2016 debut, Sleepyhead, was also imbued with a certain tenderness and vulnerability thanks to West’s confessional lyrical style. Following a break-in at her Chicago apartment and the death of a close friend, she entered a difficult phase during which she became sober and retreated intensely into her songwriting. These new songs were increasingly inward-gazing, often sad, and very personal. After landing a deal with Hardly Art, Lala Lala returned to the studio to record West’s new songs, emerging with 2018’s The Lamb. The album was acclaimed by critics and adored by fans, and West toured relentlessly. The next year Hardly Art gave Sleepyhead a proper reissue treatment, issuing the album on vinyl for the first time and getting West’s earlier material into the hands of new fans.