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Open the Door is the debut album from London songwriter Tilly Scantlebury (they/them) as Lazy Day. Bold and bright indie rock with a canny ear for a hook - the project reaches full fruition here. In the process, it marks Scantlebury out as a fresh, singular voice and a real one to watch.
It follows EPs including 2017’s Ribbons and 2019’s Letters - early releases that saw them heralded by critics as “A lo-fi dream pop force to be reckoned with” (Under the Radar) and “combining the introspection of Elliott Smith, the reverb-drenched resonance of Slowdive and the wonky pop sensibility of Kate Bush” (Noisey). Their first studio album remains dazzlingly Lazy Day, with the volume and saturation turned all the way up.
Lazy Day's previous releases drew support and acclaim from the likes of VICE, The Fader, DIY, Clash, Dork, The I, The Line of Best Fit and more, as well as radio airplay from folks including Lauren Laverne, Steve Lamacq, Huw Stephens, Jack Saunders and Matt Wilkinson.
Written and demoed in Scantlebury’s home studio, Open the Door was made in bursts throughout 2021 and into the beginning of 2022, at The Institute of Sonic Architecture in west Wales, co-produced with Gethin Pearson (Kele Okereke, Charli xcx, Whenyoung).
For those familiar with Lazy Day, the buoyant, earworm songwriting makes a welcome return, amped up and better than ever, via Scantlebury’s own production and more adventurous light-and-shade singing. Those who aren’t will be greeted by a rush of contemplative yet powerful indie rock, with rich vocals in the vein of Chrissie Hynde and Karen O, and a close, atmospheric warmth that echoes the album’s emotional sentiments – of giving, of exchange, of cutting some slack for yourself and others. This is music that speaks directly to you – music for living to, music to feel acknowledged by, and music that will make you happy to be yourself, steady and sparkling and sure.
Scantlebury’s thoughtful lyrics, unique point of view – as both a musician and art historian – and playful, dynamic, positively Technicolor melodies are on full display here, but with a new directness: “Lyrically I tried to be the clearest I’d ever been,” they explain. “I’ve never been so upfront.” Littered with straight-talking lines, the record finds Scantlebury more self-aware, and more comfortable in that self-awareness, than ever.
Newly married, out as non-binary, and with a completed PhD under their belt, Open the Door finds them occupying their queerness and its constant evolution (questions are posed, answered, left open; “I” and “you” mean something slightly different on each song), and finding validation in that. They are happiest in the domestic (as we hear on upcoming single ‘Squirm’), exploring all the corners of their identity, from masculinity to their Jewishness (recent single ‘Killer’; ‘All The Things That I Love’), and keen to steer the ship, by motivating their loved ones and listeners alike (as on ‘Strangest Relief,’ when they sing: “Take the good when it’s found / I just want you around / Getting stronger”).
“Some songs articulate moments when I’ve felt pushed out, or outside of myself. But at its heart the record offers a more optimistic view than that,” Scantlebury says. “The title Open the Door captures this throughline of tension of the record. It’s an invitation but also a demand. There’s a sense of urgency to it all. A great feeling of wanting to be in the world, and having no time to waste.”
In the end, the message is clear. Step into the world. Open the door.
Live, Lazy Day expands with Scantlebury joined on stage by Kris Lavin (bass, backing vocals), Martin Lilley (guitar, backing vocals) and Mikey King (drums), who help usher Scantlebury's multifaceted songs to life. Lazy Day will be touring Open the Door, taking it on the road on a headline tour across the UK in February 2025.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Three Tanners Bank, Three Tanners Bank, North Shields, EN, United Kingdom
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