There's a particular kind of eye-roll that births great art. For LØLØ, it happened the moment she caught herself dreading what people might say about her upcoming sophomore album—that it was too emotional, too relationship-focused, too much. Her response? Lean all the way in, name the album god forbid a girl spits out her feelings. A double dog dare, if you will.
Due April 17 via Fearless Records, the 13-track LP is exactly what the title promises: unfiltered, sharp-tongued, and completely uninterested in your comfort level. And if her new single "the punisher" is any indication, LØLØ is arriving to her sophomore era with her elbows out.
LØLØ has never been shy about mining her own life for material, but god forbid takes that confessional instinct and turns the volume up. "The songs came straight from the pages of my journal, into album form," she told us. "They're about different points of my relationships over the last couple years. They're about growing, learning, or lack of learning when it comes to navigating love and loss."
The album's title, characteristically, came with a side of sarcasm. Surveying a finished track listing full of relationship songs, LØLØ braced for the inevitable criticism—all she writes about are breakups—and instead of shrinking, she thought, "God forbid a girl spits out her feelings!" and "Immediately as I had the thought, I felt like it would be a great song title, and album title!"
The irony? Writing the title track finally gave her the one song on the album that isn't about a relationship.
If the debut album was conceptual and tightly constructed, god forbid is something rawer—more immediate. LØLØ describes it as "all of my feelings and things that happened to me in real time, without overthinking it too much." That looseness turned out to be a creative unlock, particularly when it came to "the punisher" itself, which pushed her toward a more stripped-back sonic palette she hadn't fully explored before.
"Experimenting with a slightly new direction for 'the punisher' definitely surprised me and showed me that I could love a more stripped back side of myself," she said. "After that, I ended up making quite a few of the songs more in that vein because I loved it so much."
The album she'd always planned to make became something slightly different—and apparently something better.
Ask LØLØ which track she's most excited for fans to hear, and she doesn't hesitate: "'lobotomy & u' is probably my favorite. It's absolutely heartbreaking." She knows acoustic tracks don't always top the stream counts, but she's banking on the fan-favorite effect. "They do tend to be a fan favorite," she noted. "I hope that happens again, because it's definitely my favorite."
With 150M+ global streams and a reputation built on exactly this kind of gut-punch songwriting, it's a safe bet.
LØLØ wants listeners to know she agonized over the song order—this is not a shuffle album. "I spent a lot of time on the song order and the story, so I hope people really listen front to back when it comes out," she said. "I'm really proud of this body of work, and I hope they love it too."
The album also arrives with a clear emotional mission. In an era where girls are routinely told they're too sensitive or too emotional, LØLØ is making the counter-argument in 13 tracks. "I hope it shows them that being human and feeling all of these things is completely normal and okay," she said. "I want people to embrace that and know that it's normal."
The album isn't even out yet and LØLØ is already stacking the calendar. A U.K./E.U. headline tour kicks off April 25 in Vienna and runs through May 13 in Birmingham. After that, she'll hit Warped Tour stops in Washington D.C., Long Beach, Montreal, and Mexico City. And for those who can't get enough—a deluxe version is already in the works, with collabs and other projects she's keeping close to the chest for now.
"I'm finally getting back on the road again after my vocal injury, so I'm VERY excited for that, first and foremost!!" she said, the double exclamation point doing exactly the work it needed to.
god forbid a girl spits out her feelings arrives April 17 via Fearless Records. Pre-save it, put it on your calendar, do what you need to do in order to let yourself feel something!
Tickets and tour dates at itslolomusic.com.
Photo credit: Christina Bryson
