She’s the Grammy-winning producer, songwriter, and performer who has worked with Tyler, The Creator, CASISDEAD, Skream and Skrillex and sold millions of records across the globe. Today, La Roux makes her long-awaited return with the announcement of her fourth album Old Flames to be released on November 6 and gives us our first glimpse into its unfolding story with new single ‘Cabin Fever’.
Composed, written, produced, and arranged by La Roux, the album is a self-possessed statement from an artist who finds power in candour and imagination. Across Old Flames, she confronts the collapse of a 17-year relationship, the ache of forbidden love, the loneliness of addiction and the struggle to reconcile sexuality and identity beneath the glare of public scrutiny. Its references span everything from David Lynch to Donnie Darko; All Saints and Mariah Carey, alongside her jeep and summertime rain. Old Flames is nostalgic, immersive, future facing and completely and utterly true to La Roux.
Sharing her vision for the album, La Roux says: “This record says things how they are: how I am and who I am. It’s been a process of admitting what I got wrong through telling these tales and coming to terms with where I am now. Old Flames is essentially me processing why I’ve behaved the way that I have and saying goodbye to it. It’s a farewell to that way of behaving in love and life. And in music too.”
She offers the first chapter of the unfolding story with new single ‘Cabin Fever’. It drops us straight into self-imposed hibernation – racing thoughts, excuses, the seduction of staying inside. A 90s-influenced pop palette is elevated by La Roux’s expansive, electronic production, brought to life with a music video which sets the scene for Old Flames’ visual world. Speaking on the single, she shares: “‘Cabin Fever’ is about where I was: stuck in my head and lost, having to be brutally honest about it in order to escape.”
Meticulously crafted yet free of excess, this is a deeply considered offering rich in meaning and ideas, without feeling overworked. It’s a triumphant return from a multi-award-winning composer who sold over two million albums in the US alone after redefining the DNA of pop music with her self-titled debut album in 2009. She went on to work with some of the world’s most influential musicians; DnB frontrunner Zinc reworked ‘Bulletproof’, while dubstep pioneer Skream and Grammy winner Skrillex both remixed ‘In For The Kill’; going on to work with Skream on his second album, 2010’s Outside The Box.
In 2019, she featured alongside guests including Solange and Lil Uzi Vert on Tyler, The Creator’s boundary-breaking album Igor. The following year, Tyler remixed La Roux’s ‘Automatic Driver’ from her third album, Supervision. In 2021, she worked with reclusive rapper CASISDEAD on ‘Park Assist’, featuring alongside the BRIT winner in the video directed by Deadpool baddie Ed Skrien. Her work continues to inspire and influence other artists; French Montana, Tion Wayne, Mavado and Major Lazer are just some of the acts who have sampled La Roux’s work.
Building on a remarkable legacy, Old Flames marks an artist who continues to inspire, surprise and evolve. It’s worth the wait.
Please see tour routing below supporting Hilary Duff across the US, UK and Australia.