Fenne Lily Revisits an Old Wound in the Stirring "Lights Light Up"
New York-based English singer-songwriter Fenne Lily both warms and breaks our hearts with the release of her latest single, "Lights Light Up." The muted and shimmering single is the artist's first release since her 2020 sophomore album, BREACH, and carefully examines the complexity of relationship struggles and the contradictions of life.
The single is full of glowing and golden sonics, which contrast and complement Lily's melancholic vocal delivery, beautifully depicting the dichotomy at play. Her lyrics take us into intimate moments between a couple, whether keeping each other warm through the cold nights or hearing about a cancer diagnosis. She captures the difficulty of the relationship in the conversational chorus, "And you said so do you ever wanna leave here/ and I said well that depends on the day / and you said oh do you even wanna be here / and I said well that depends on the way."
"Iʼd never really written about love in the present tense before this, but even though I was still in love and not thinking about the end, there was something else going on subconsciously that led to a song about moving on before the moving on had begun," she noted in a press release. "When it came time to record, the band and I had been playing it live for a while, and itʼd become something joyful and positive, but when I started recording vocals, the lyrics made me cry. By that point, the song was over a year old and I thought those wounds had healed but I guess it hurt to admit Iʼd been letting go of something while still trying to hold on."
The stunning music video, directed by Haoyan of America, sees Lily walk through the streets of New York. As soon as she leaves her door, she's followed by an increasing number of quirky characters, including someone with a giant coffee mug for a head. Scenes of the increasingly ridiculous yet wholesome characters trailing the artist juxtapose scenes of Lily playing the song in her room while someone sleeps.
Alongside the single's release, the singer-songwriter has also revealed that her new album Big Picture will be out April 14. Recorded at Brad Cook's studio in North Carolina, Fenne Lily co-produced the album with Cook, save for one track produced with Christian Lee Hutson, with whom she'll head out on an extensive tour later this year.
Fenne Lily Tour Dates:
Sat. Apr. 15 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Sun. Apr. 16 – Dublin, IE @ Workman’s Club
Tue. Apr. 18 – Glasgow, UK @ St Luke’s
Wed. Apr. 19 – Manchester, UK @ YES
Thu. Apr. 20 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall
Fri. Apr. 21 – Bristol, UK @ Trinity
Sun. Apr. 23 – Brighton, UK @ Patterns
Mon. Apr. 24 – Brussels, BE @ AB Club
Tue. Apr. 25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
Thu. Apr. 27 – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher
Fri. Apr. 28 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Ideal Bar
Sat. Apr. 29 – Berlin, DE @ Frannz
Mon. May 1 – Munich, DE @ Ampere
Tue. May 2 – Cologne, DE @ Stadtgarten
Wed. May 3 – Paris, FR @ FMR
Thu. May 11 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room *
Fri. May 12 – Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall *
Sat. May 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
Mon. May 15 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
Tue. May 16 – Portland, Oregon @ Aladdin Theater *
Wed. May 17 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre *
Fri. May 19 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court *
Sat. May 20 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
Mon. May 22 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck *
Tue. May 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line *
Wed. May 24- Milwaukee, WI @ Back Room at Colectivo Coffee *
Thu. May 25 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
Fri. May 26 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe *
Sat. May 27 – Toronto, ON @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern *
Tue. May 30 – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace *
Wed. May 31 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair *
Fri. Jun. 2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
Sat. Jun. 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Sun. Jun. 4 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat *
Mon. Jun. 5 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall *
Tue. Jun. 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
Wed. Jun. 7 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East *
Fri. Jun. 9 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge *
Sat. Jun. 10 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips *
Sun. Jun. 11 – Austin, TX @ The Parish *
Tue. Jun. 13 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *
Thu. Jun. 15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge *
Fri. Jun. 16 – West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour *
* = co-headline with Christian Lee Hutson
