LA singer-songwriter Lou Roy explores contemporary folk with traces of jazz and pop, inspired by the likes of Fiona Apple, Joni Mitchell, and The Beach Boys. She will release her debut EP, Your Friend, on November 15 via Sony Masterworks and today shares the personal exploration of acceptance in “Ari Knew Before Me“, out now on all DSPs.
“The full story of this song belongs to me and to her, so here’s a truncated version: someone I cared about told me she liked me before I understood my bisexuality,” explains Lou. “The song mourns a fantasy of what could’ve been between us, had I been in touch with the part of me that likes girls.”
With a central focus on vocal performance, the Your Friend, EP – co-produced by Sam Wilkes – grapples with shortcomings as a friend or lover, and revels in the beauty of good times. Soaring guitar and pedal steel with honey-sweet vocals could fool listeners into a comfortable lull, if not for biting lyrics and cutting arrangements. The EP exists in a netherworld between beauty and horror, often mistaking one for the other.
Under her previous moniker, Huxlee, Lou self-released two EPs, Teammate and Appetite. They earned her critical acclaim from Earmilk, the #14 spot on Spotify’s US Viral 50 playlist, and she was also the recipient of BMI’s 17th annual John Lennon Songwriting Award. She has performed background vocals for Lorde at Coachella 2017, a brief stint with Don Henly, and has had songs and performances featured on Netflix, TLC, and more.
Lou will play an EP release show at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, November 11.