Lily Allen has never made music that Iâd label as âconventional.â Controversial perhaps, definitely thought-provoking, but nothing she's released over the last 12 years could be summed up as ordinary. This time around though, Lily seems to be putting her past behind her, with her best foot forward, looking towards the future. âNo Shameâ tears down Lilyâs protective barriers and leaves her vulnerable in so many ways.
With her similar tongue-in-cheek fashion, Lily opens the album challenging the tabloids over a trap on the track âCome On Then.â Working as a great intro to an album titled No Shame, the song sets the mood for the record: âself-proclaimed confidence and honest insecurities clashing.â There are part of this record where youâll still see Lily standing tall, but what really sets No Shame apart from her other albums is just how honest and raw she gets on some of these tracks. âFamily Manâ is one of these tracks, in it Lily pleas for her and her (now) ex-husband to resolve their differences, to accept each other for who they are, and to keep this marriage going. What this track did well was that, as she pours her heart out, you could hear in her voice every emotion thatâs associated with the track. Layered with only a few percussions and lead by a light piano, it progresses into a heavy and beautifully done track. Continuing her 1-2-3 combo of ballads, âApplesâ comes next, where Lily reflects on the choices made that ultimately ended in their divorce. These first two ballads show a different side of Lily, a point that could only possibly be fought with her Sheezus track, âTake My Place.â One side of Lily that sheâs kept almost entirely out of her music is one where sheâs heartbroken. âFamily Manâ and âApplesâ are just that, where you can feel it in her vocals how sheâs genuinely grieving for the lose of her marriage. âThreeâ is the final of the trio and itâs Lilyâs perception of her life through the eyes of her 3 year old. âPlease donât go, stay here with me, itâs not my fault Iâm only three.â Piano driven once again, the track reveals Lilyâs guilt over being a working mother. These three tracks feel like some of the realest Lily Allen track...no sarcasm, no charade, just her heart, thrown on the table for all to see.
One huge selling point of this album was how extremely open Lily was going to be about her life, but not every track is made up of just her hard times. No Shame sets another milestone for Lily, itâs her first record to have a feature on it. âYour Choiceâ features Burna Boy and works as one of Lilyâs most chill and fun tracks. Itâs about Lily coming to peace with the end of her marriage, but itâs great lyrics and bubbly melody are not what make the track shine. Her duet here with Burna is just so well executed and their vocals work so well together that it sits well above any collaboration sheâs done before. Aside from this track and the first single youâll find one more feature, Lady Chann, on a reggae-inspired track, âWaste.â Like a cross between âLDNâ & âNot Bigâ (Alright, Still) the track is upbeat, groovy, and full of Lilyâs sarcastic demeanor. Lady Channâs verse here hits like a train and came across as too âin-you-face,â but without this track, her reggae tone may have been lost halfway through the record.
There are only a handful of things I could say bad about this album, but nothing takes away from just how serene this album is. âEverything to Feel Somethingâ starts with a questionable echo effect & during the bridge thereâs a good amount of bad auto tune. Clearly Fryars (the producer) intended the autotune as an effect, but it just seems very out of style for both Lily and this No Shame era, even if using it could be seen as âshameful.â Itâs tracks like this that Iâd label as âforgettable,â however there are a few tracks Iâve come across in recent years that Iâd say were âforgettable,â but not bad. âMy Oneâ is one of those tracks. It follows Lily on her adventures around the world, looking for her perfect relationship. Thereâs absolutely nothing wrong with the track, and I absolutely BOP to this, but it always surprises me when it comes on, because I forget itâs even on the album.
What Iâve always admired Lily for is her exceptional use of wordplay across her discography. Whether sheâs writing about political issues (âFuck You,â) giving a lesson in sexism (âHard Out Here,â) or questioning a higher power (âHim,â) Lily knows how to precisely word each song to have it come across just as she wishes. No Shame is full of perfect examples, but for me, nothing beats out âHigherâ or âPushing Up the Daisies.â âHigherâ feeds my love for a play on words because on the surface this track veils to be about Lilyâs failing relationship, repeating the phrase âyouâre such a bad liar, stakes getting higher and higher and higher.â Realistically, Lily wrote this song about her struggles with the music industry, while purposely giving the song a double meaning. On the other hand, âPushing Up the Daisiesâ uses her talents in a different way; Lily is imagining her life with her partner, where she not only sees their happy moments together, but also their bad. Itâs and interesting concept, but itâs as if Lily sees the end early on, but she sees their end with them together. Coupled with the upbeat and flowery production, this track soars as the album itself begins to end.
Four albums in yet Lily Allen has already solidified her reputation as a veteran songstress in her own right. No Shame brings Lilyâs personal life to the foreground while maintaining the wit and charm one would expect from a Lily Allen record. I donât think Iâd ever tire of new music from her, but I believe No Shame will go down as one of her âclassics.â Itâs organic, well written, beautifully produced, and 100% Lily Allenâ