I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: April 2, 2019] Lala Lala

I had never heard of Lala Lala before this show.

Lala Lala is the creation of Lillie West.  She is based in Chicago but is originally from London–so her accent was a little confusing at first.

In fact, everything about her set was confusing.  She and her band were quite playful as Slugs (when they jammed with Christian Lee Huston during his set), but during this set they were kind of slow and deadpan.  Indeed, West sings quietly, almost a mumble.

In this review from The Key (I disagree with the almost the entire assessment of the night), it says:

Lala Lala was another amazing find from the performance, bringing songs that would be pop-punk if they weren’t so insular, beachy if they weren’t so secluded. Using Best Coast-esque riffs on top of West’s harsh whisper of a singing voice, Lala Lala’s set was a highlight of the night.

I couldn’t disagree more.  I found their set pretty disappointing.

The consolation was that the songs were short, so each one brought a new idea at least.  But I feel that everything that the quote says is why I didn’t like it:

The songs would be pop-punk BUT THEY WERE TOO insular, beachy BUT THEY WERE TOO secluded.

It all came off as a band under a piece of gauze.  I’ve listened to the recordings and there’s a bit more life to them, but I just didn’t hear any of the pop during the show (“Destroyer” ended the set really nicely, shame it was the last song).  In fact some of the songs sound a bit like Nilufer Yanya, but without her spark.

Although I did enjoy the lyrics and delivery of “Fuck with Your Friends.”

The highlight was when Christian Lee Hutson came out and they reprised Slugs for one more song.

I’m also into band interaction and there was very little.  In fact, I feel like she sometimes is-stated the name of the band: “lalala lalala” or some variation.  When the set ended, she just walked off.

It was kind of a bummer.