Lola Young: From Down Here...

Hi. I hope you are well and having a good day.

In today's post, I wanted to write about my first impressions of Lola Young's new single From Down Here. After her viral hit of Messy, I decided to listen to her album This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway and I really enjoyed the whole album. I am still yet to listen to her other albums admittedly, but her latest single of From Down Here really took me by surprise by the emotional vulnerability displayed in this track.

From Down Here was released on Friday 22nd May 2026 and it is a soulful and reflective track which symbolises the re-birth and survival of Lola Young after suffering from severe burnout. The image of wearing a party dress but not having a Birthday for a whole year reflects the desire for wanting to be the centre of attention, not wanting to fade into the background which many music artists can probably relate to. There are also connotions to being unable to dance or make conversation, which was once her favourite place, but also hating it at the same time. The contradiction between being the favourite place which she hates is Lola's perspective gradually changing from not needing to be the centre of attention all the time, and also links into the fact that Lola was unable to do the things she enjoyed when she experienced extreme burnout.

After Messy stormed the charts, Lola was on top of the world. The song was being played everywhere, the sounds were trending and this was Lola's break through moment. She worked tirelessly to promote her new album, to perform her songs.. She didn't want to be one of those one hit wonders who was forgotten about in a few months after the next latest viral hit came along. However this resulted in her extreme burnout due to exhuastion and addiction, forcing her to take a hiatus from music and from this, she felt she had reached rock bottom.

The chorus is about missing the high from her success and looking up at her past self from being down here. The world moved on from Messy onto the next viral hit, and the chorus reflects the fact that she felt like she was flying on the peak of her chart topping success, only to feel like she is now back down at the bottom. It is a very emotionally vulnerable chorus for a musician who has celebrated success with one chart topping hit, and the feeling of being down once the viral hit has been and gone from the charts.

The second verse is Lola questioning if she can make them laugh, and make them stay. I believe this line is to do with the fact that her song Messy was very well known and recognised, and Lola is now questioning whether she as a person is enough to make people want to get to know her on a personal level, as well as listening to other songs in her discography. After the success, she notes that things don't feel right, she turns away a line, as she is not the same person as she once was and is recovering from addiction in the process of recovering from the loss of her past self. She comments on feeling not quite alive, which in turn implies disassociation to her past self.

The bridge states that she knows its not right to long for parts of that life, as she was aware that although it was a europhic time, there was also the constant overworking and pressure from being a viral hit. However there is a sense to reminisce her past self, to miss her old life and honour it without being judged or told to stop looking backwards. This song highlights the uncomfortable truths that recovery can feel like a loss at time, and there is also a nostalgic longing, the recovery and grief of that previous life, as Lola steps into a new phase of her life where she turns the page, closing that previous chaotic chapter of her life.

From Down Here is a very emotionally vulnerable and personal track which uncovers uncomfortable truths about the fall from her viral overnight chart success and the process of her addiction recovery, as well as accepting the loss of the past sense of self, navigating the grief and emotions as she navigates through a new chapter of her life. From this single alone, I am really looking forward to hearing Lola's new music!

So yeah, it's all good...

Amy

Record Store Day - April 2026...

Hi. I hope you are well and having a good day.

In today's post, I wanted to write about participating in my first ever Record Store Day. The premise of Record Store Day is to celebrate independent record stores, where various vinyl records are specifically pressed for this day. There is one day in April, and one day at the end of November every year, and I managed to get down to my local record stores on Saturday 18th April 2026!

I have only participated through online sales in the previous record store days over the last year or so, due to not being able to make them in person on the previous days I have known about them. Basically Record Store Day is held at independent record shops on the Saturday, Sunday is a normal opening day selling record store day vinyl and any leftover stock is sold online from independent record stores on the Monday. I can remember being ecstatic that I managed to get a copy of Billie Eilish's isolated vocals of Hit Me Hard and Soft online last year, which quickly sold out within 10 minutes! Record Store Day is becoming more popular, and people will start queuing / camping out at their local record stores the night before to get their most wanted limited edition releases! I am not quite that keen to camp out the night before, but I had some free time that Saturday afternoon so I thought I would visit my local record store to see what the actual day was like!

Before attending Record Store Day in person, I would recommend looking through the list of releases and deciding which records you want to purchase! I would also recommend not getting too carried away in the excitement of it all however that can be easier said than done... And I would also recommend to set a spending limit!

For me, I had one must-have and one want. My must-have was Laufey's A Matter of Time live in Madison Square Garden. I have collected all of Laufey's Record Store Day releases on vinyl, and I absolutely love her album A Matter of Time so this was my must-have.  At 17,000 copies globally, this one was a realistic must-have! My wanted vinyl was Wicked One Wonderful Night (Live): The Soundtrack. The Wicked films are a couple of my favourite films over the recent few years, and I love the soundtrack in both films. This was limited to 7,000 globally therefore I knew there wasn't much chance of me getting this!

The first record shop didn't fill me with much hope. It was busy, I looked through the three boxes on the counter and there was nothing really exciting in there that I even considered! I asked if there was any Laufey behind the counter, the guy initially looked confused and then he remembered that he only received five copies and they were all gone. After that visit, I really wasn't hopeful for the second store!

The second record shop had pretty much a similar sort of set up, although there did seem to be more records there. There was a similar amount of people in this record shop, it was definitely a great atmosphere in the shops, and everyone was looking for their personal preferences. Looking through the boxes, there definitely seemed to be more there of my personal interest! I was going through the first box I could get to, and I found the Laufey vinyl, where I was so excited! I immediately picked it up and held onto it with my life! The second box had nothing which I was personally interested in. I had seen some which I would consider, but I wouldn't get it due to the price.. I feel like there has to be limitations due to the price aspect! 

I started looking through the third box, and there were a few more records of interest but I then came across Sophie Ellis' Bextor's 25th Anniversary pressing of Read My Lips and I was debating whether or not to pick it up, as it wasn't on my immediate list. However I decided to get it in the end mainly as I had actually stopped to think properly about getting this one! This pressing was limited to 5,400 copies, and this one was also numbered, with my copy being 772 out of 5,400.  I also think another influencing factor was that I found Sophie Ellis Bextor's Kichen Disco Live at London Palladium vinyl at an independent record store in York, got it on an impulse and I really enjoy listening to that! Looking back, if I hadn't got it, I knew I would be feeling regret at this present moment... I do love her bigger songs and I can't wait to get to know her unreleased tracks from this vinyl pressing!

When I went to pay for my two vinyls, I decided to ask about Wicked.. I don't know why, but I thought at the time if you don't ask, you will never know. I was expected to be met with a "no, we have sold out completely" or "we didn't get any Wicked in". But then the guy at the counter turned to another guy who went in the back and they said "we messed up a bit with our stock, this is the last one that we have". I could not believe my luck! I was so excited to have a vinyl that I never thought I would have a realistic chance of getting! As I was paying, I could not believe what had just happened!

I was in a bit of a euphoric state for the rest of the day as I couldn't stop smiling with how my first in-person Record Store Day went! I got home, and unpackaged all the vinyls... Laufey's vinyl release was pressed on these opaque red vinyls, and they had all the songs from the original release of A Matter of Time on, as well as a few of my other favourite songs from Laufey. Sophie Ellis Bextor was pressed on these red transparent glittery vinyls, which looked so beautiful! And for the Wicked, there was one green splatter and one pink splatter vinyl which had a marble effect and looked absolutely stunning.. They were definitely my favourites when it came to the vinyl design. I was and still am really pleased with my vinyl purchases!

From my experience, I would definitely participate in another Record Store Day, if there were vinyl releases that I am interested in. I don't think I will be one of those people turning up the night before, but never say never!

So yeah, it's all good...

Amy