From commanding the stage at the iconic London Palladium to securing highly coveted spots on BBC 5Live and BBC London, Lilla Shy has been forging an extraordinary path in the flourishing indie pop scene. Hailing from Rome but finding her musical roots in the UK, Lilla now delights fans with “Layers”—a mesmerising fusion of electro-pop and indie-rock, bound together by her rich, dynamic vocal range and natural flair for introspective, heartfelt lyricism.

The album opens with the delicate piano keys of the title track “LAYERS”, complemented by epic DnB-style basslines and hauntingly distorted vocals. From the emotive Italian-language ballad “LONDRA” to the effervescent and infectious “MOMENTS LIKE THESE”, Lilla Shy seamlessly showcases her remarkable versatility. Each track brims with raw, anthemic energy, while soaring melodies and atmospheric soundscapes reveal the depth of her musical artistry.

Listen to the album…

INTRO

I tried to wrap up in a song the feeling, the noise, and meaning of belonging to my Italian family. I used the piano to describe the sweetness of my mum’s hug, my sister’s “no matter what” kind of presence. I laid down those minor chords to recall how my nephew’s tears turn into the most joyous, nonsense laughter. It didn’t do it justice though, the instrument alone, so I thought of recording the explosion of voices during the Sunday lunch in my childhood flat and my friends’ WhatsApp messages to turn them into the main characters of the track. This intro is my way of saying: “Welcome to my first home. It’s always loud in here, we scream at each other but we’re not arguing, we dance and sing, but never between 2pm and 4pm to respect the neighbourhood’s ‘nap time’ rule. We love with an overwhelming love. Welcome to Roma, 00141, where my journey began.”

LAYERS

I once dropped work and bought a last-minute flight for a friend who felt very sad – she needed me there. I spent all my money on a Lego toy for my nephew to make him like me, because I live abroad and I thought he’d forget about me. I do charity work. I swear, I like all my friends’ posts on Instagram. I compliment other girls. But then, I also happen to tell secrets I swore I’d never tell, I broke my ex-boyfriend’s heart after vowing we’d be forever. Once I told my mother I hated her and, that time, it felt true. Good people are capable of doing bad things; I think I’m one of them. I am a walking contradiction. I get anxious to call my local curry house for my Friday takeaway treat, but I can’t wait to sing my most personal songs to a room full of strangers. I am scared to the bone of being judged and desperate to be seen. And it took years to realise I’m actually just like everybody else – we’re made of layers. They’re all valid, they’re all me, and I can choose which one to enhance and which one I should sweep under the carpet instead.

LONELY

The ‘moving abroad’ theme is a recurring one in this album as I unfold its different meanings throughout. ‘Lonely’ represents those initial steps, when my decision to pursue music and leave all I knew behind to do it, heavily affected most days of my London life. It’s about the countless ‘weak connection’ FaceTimes, about those new friends who will never understand how funny I am in my native language, about the too many hours spent on TikTok and all the followers I don’t have. About the times when I say I’m okay with being shy, but I wish I wasn’t and didn’t have to pour a glass to start a conversation. ‘Lonely’ is one of the quickest songs I’ve written and among my favourites to produce – I envisioned it like a sort of safe place to cry, where you can dance the tears away to it or just bounce around if you don’t pay too much attention to the lyrics. I also thought it’d be fun to recall the UK link by quoting Oasis and giving my own twist to a garage beat.

TEXT ME WHEN YOU’RE HOME

Hood up, keys in one hand, fake phone call, and off she goes. “Text me when you’re home” is what I say to all my girlfriends when I know they’re walking home alone at night. This line alone represents one of the highest forms of love but also a great evidence of injustice. I dedicate this to the ex-boyfriends who’d tell us we wouldn’t achieve a thing without them or to the anger and shame we feel for those d**k pics sliding into the DMs. When I walk home alone at night, I regret doing my makeup so nicely or wearing the tight dress. I regret wishing to be seen when I was getting ready. If I don’t make it home one time, some might say it was my fault. Some might even convince me it is true.

COLLIDE

This is one of the few co-writes on the album, and the most special. I wrote it with my husband Tom, as we wanted to recall the very first feelings of a romantic relationship, when you’re both falling in love but are also scared to screw it all up. You’re terrified by the idea of them realising how clumsy/weird/hypochondriac/clingy/etc you can be. We wrote the song from the perspective of both parts, when one overthinks her own weirdness but doesn’t know the other is thinking exactly the same: “what if emotions evaporate when I get too hard to chew?” The most fun part of the process was writing the counterpart’s verse, so I had to picture his character in all his weird traits, and he described mine. This is true for most relationships: that one trait you dislike about your personality is likely to become the thing your other half prefers about you and the glue that completes you as a couple.

LONDRA

Part of the ‘missing home’ saga, Londra (the Italian translation for London) is the only song I’ve ever released in my native language. It describes the reason behind the ‘big move,’ how it’s always our parents/country/that one person’s fault, but really, you can’t run away from yourself when the problem is you.

MOMENTS LIKE THESE

My teenage years are coloured with memories of me and my friends sitting in a little square in front of our school. That was our special place and we’d call it the ‘piazzetta’ in Italian. Four benches and a ball was all we needed, we were happy and we didn’t know it back then. All we wanted was to look like grown-ups, smoking cigarettes and ‘zigzagging’ our motorcycles through the Roman traffic. Don’t rush, young girl. The makeup days will come and you’ll regret putting too much foundation on that silky skin too soon. Your heart will heal and crush again and you’ll laugh at those ugly clothes. ‘Moments Like These’ is the poppiest song on the album, it’s fun and full, like teenage days seem when you look back and reminisce.

BRIGHT

I fell in love with a man whose surname is Bright and, no matter how cliché this may sound, the more I know him, the more I am convinced that was not a coincidence: that he’s been put on this earth to brighten the lives of whoever he encounters. In this song, I try my best to explain how he changed mine forever, from the silliest daily chores to the deepest part of my being, for the best. I try to explain how, before I met him, I thought I’d found my balance and I was perfectly fine, although I wasn’t. But I had to meet him to figure it out. I had to meet him to become the best version of me. So, this is my love song. It’s fun and a bit cheesy, but who says love needs big words and complicated metaphors when it doesn’t feel complicated at all?

TO THE SON I DON’T KNOW YET

This song is quite old and has a long history. When I first wrote it, years and years back, it started as a love letter to my younger self. I wanted to thank her for turning into the woman I am, and reassure her that she would never be forgotten. Its original title was ‘The Bloom’ and nothing happened with it, I let it gather dust in my notebook. Fast forward five years and I become auntie to two beautiful boys and nothing will ever sum up the feeling of holding the newborns in my arms. They were so tiny, but I couldn’t stop imagining them as 30-year-old men. Who, what will you be? “I don’t know how my sister does it,” I would think, as I’ve always dreaded the idea of raising boys. What if I have a son one day, how will I teach him that it’s okay to cry and be sensitive? To be respectful, kind. Will I read him poems, maybe cry in front of him myself? I will sing the sweetest lullabies and push him to always look for the good in people, to seek the sun in dark times. One of my favourite productions, here the vocal arrangement leads the song and my voice becomes the main instrument. It’s the one that comes from within, I feel like it couldn’t have been any different for this song.

UGLY

My mum used to tell me to stop worrying so much about how I look. But I couldn’t help it, I was so ugly. I would ask people how they saw me and I would change mirrors to make sure that that thing reflected there wasn’t actually me. I was ugly, I was silly. I was slow, lazy, and ugly again. Anything awful, you name it, I was that too. This song is my apology to myself for being my own worst enemy for years. I called me weak but my legs kept walking when I thought I couldn’t even stand. My heart kept beating when I felt it crushing inside my chest. This is beauty. I was beautiful all along. I’m so proud of having Ed Harcourt as co-producer of the track with his twinkly piano parts and building synths. The soundscape he created really gives the idea of growing pains getting heavier and heavier until one day they stop. And there’s light and hope again.

HOME(S)

I made peace with the fact that “going home” and “being at home” have many meanings to me. And that’s simply because I have many homes. I made peace with the fact that I’ll never stop crying on the plane back to London, and I know now those tears are both sad and happy.

My heart is split in two, three, four. One piece for each person I leave behind and another to the ones I can’t wait to see again. I thought I didn’t know who I was because I didn’t know where I belonged. Turns out I belong to myself and I carry home with me wherever I go. This song completes the shift from electronic to organic – as I dug out and finally found the most authentic, peaceful part of me. Thank you Gita Langley for the most beautiful string arrangement.

N4, LDN – outro

The album ends the same way it started, only difference is we’re in Haringey now, where I first moved here in London. The flat is quieter but the roads are loud, there’s no ‘nap time’ rule. I know the people who love me will always be here, happy for me to crack on with my life, even when it doesn’t necessarily involve them. When they’re far. When they don’t understand what I’m doing. It took ages to come to this end but here I am. These are my layers, from me to you.