A bad relationship becomes all about power. Lily Allen’s ‘West End Girl’ deconstructs a very bad relationship, forensically, song by song, thereby taking back that power – and then some!
You can’t help but admire her. It’s the equivalent of a boxer, down on the canvas, suddenly getting back on their feet – and delivering the knock out punch; because, for me, ‘West End Girl’ is a knock out album.
One reviewer suggests its strength lies in its frightening lack of filter. But I would add, that this naked honesty only works as the songs are so strictly crafted and edited. In the song ‘Sleepwalking’, for example, in just a few words, you have such a clear picture of the state of a marriage and the characters involved:
‘You don’t stop talking / And I’m just sleepwalking / See your thoughts forming / Baby, stop it, it’s 3 in the morning’
It’s an album that’s both funny and sad, often at the same time. It’s also modern and traditional (rather like the wonderful portrait of Allen for the album’s cover). A postmortem of a ‘modern’, open marriage and yet, in this era of digital downloads, it restores the integrity of the album as a whole work of art, with a definite narrative arc. Although each song stands alone, you should really listen from start to finish. Which I urge you to do. It’s something of a modern masterpiece.
