A kaleidoscopic alt-pop reckoning, ‘SEVEN’ is Lois’ fierce and weak declaration of independence – crafted for anybody rebuilding themselves from the bottom up.
Stream: ‘SEVEN’ – Lois
Some data include glitter and confetti. SEVEN arrives with wind in your hair, goosebumps in your arms, and a quiet defiance in your chest.
There’s a wild freedom in Lois’ voice – like she’s whispering secrets and techniques from a dark-lit nook of a Leeds pub, or shouting her reality into the wind above the North Sea. It’s pop, positive. Nevertheless it’s additionally a reckoning. And SEVEN doesn’t ask in your consideration – it instructions it, gently however firmly, like a buddy who lastly is aware of her price.
Out now by way of Mercury Information, SEVEN marks Lois’ second EP and first as an impartial artist. A follow-up to 2023’s Unusual Males, the five-track challenge is a reclamation of identification and inventive energy. Written within the aftermath of leaving her label, it captures the uncooked push-pull of maturity, from craving and grief to self-trust and glitter-stained rebirth. Followers of The Japanese Home, Self Esteem, and HAIM? You’re going to wish to keep seated for this one.
Lois’ capacity to mix different pop with lyrical intimacy has already earned her reward from BBC Introducing, The Line of Greatest Match, Notion, and DIY Journal. However with SEVEN, she’s not simply carving a lane – she’s driving it full velocity.
Written over two transformative years, SEVEN is deeply private and sharply common. “It was a reclamation of my inventive output, my physique, my voice,” Lois says. “Externally, it’s shoulder pads, brooches, blazers, and a poor try at a Farrah Fawcett hairdo. However internally? It was about regaining autonomy.”
That duality – powerful and tender, nostalgic and new – runs by way of your entire EP. Title monitor “SEVEN” drips with rose-tinted reflection, whereas “Phoenix” explodes with righteous anger. “It jogged my memory of each time I’d felt I needed to make myself smaller to make a person really feel extra comfy,” she shares. “This track is concerning the common understanding between ladies, the sisterhood, the energy we have now collectively.”
There’s no filler on SEVEN. From the daring opener “Mine” to the aching last notice of “April Showers”, every track feels important to the story. “Love You Higher”, a glistening ‘80s-inspired monitor, gives a delicate vulnerability that contrasts fantastically with the unapologetic swagger of “Mine.” Whereas Lois didn’t deliberately construct a story arc, the EP’s sequencing captures the “mild and shade” of coming-of-age emotion.
After which there’s “April Showers” – the sort of nearer that lingers lengthy after the ultimate strum. “It’s concerning the idea of ‘sliding doorways’ – how our lives might be so totally different if we didn’t make the smallest selections,” Lois explains. “The road that also hits too shut? ‘Guess typically it snows in April, I’m nonetheless lacking you in Might.’”
Born in Morecambe and now based mostly in Leeds, Lois’ Northern roots run deep. “It’s probably not a factor for Northern individuals to be overly emotional or speak about our emotions,” she says with fun. “I assume songwriting was one of many solely areas I felt protected to try this.” You’ll be able to really feel that grit-meets-heart in each lyric, each notice.
Influenced by artists like Self Esteem, Huge Assault, Little Simz, and (all the time) Prince, Lois blends alt-pop with a cinematic depth that feels constructed for each dance flooring and late-night practice rides. Dwell efficiency is her lifeblood – her favourite reminiscence up to now? Taking part in Manchester Albert Corridor. “The sound of 2000 individuals… it simply utterly blew me away.”
Lois isn’t simply dreaming – she’s declaring. “I’m manifesting Glastonbury 2027,” she says with out lacking a beat. Till then, she’s staying grounded, pushed by the mantra: Why not me?
And if SEVEN is any indication, the reply to that query is evident: it is her. That is an EP for anybody rebuilding themselves from the bottom up. For anybody who’s been underestimated, silenced, or reshaped by others’ expectations. For anybody craving music that meets them within the messy center – and invitations them to remain.
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:: stream/buy SEVEN right here ::
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RAPID-FIRE WITH LOIS
Atwood Journal: What’s one lyric you want you wrote?
Lois: “She is the tear that hangs inside my soul without end.” – Jeff Buckley
The track that all the time makes you cry?
Lois: “Free” – Deniece Williams
Final album that ruined you (in a great way)?
Lois: In Rainbows – Radiohead
If SEVEN have been a movie, what would its title be?
Lois: Pay Consideration to the Indicators
One track from SEVEN that felt like remedy?
Lois: “Love You Higher”
Line from SEVEN that also hits?
Lois: “Guess typically it snows in April, I’m nonetheless lacking you in Might.”
Most stunning factor you’ve discovered about your self recently?
Lois: I like mushrooms. Bizarre.
A phrase or mantra you retain coming again to?
Lois: Why not me?
First artist you ever obsessed over?
Lois: Beyoncé
One factor you’d inform 16-year-old you?
Lois: It WILL get higher!!!!
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:: join with Lois right here ::
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