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For any artist, the experience of putting out your debut album is a loaded one. It’s burdened with expectation but liberated by the promise of a fresh start. For Lydia Night, who has performed both on and off stage since she was 15, the concept of making a debut album came with a myriad of added factors. In order to make Parody of Pleasure, she had to eliminate expectation completely and naturally let herself fall back into making music. A lot of ground is covered throughout the 13-track project, but it all ties back to the gruelingly beautiful artist experience. We broke down the album with Lydia, chatting about organically embarking on her solo career, the playfulness of pop music, and how context really is everything.

OnesToWatch: I had such a fun time uncovering everything about Parody of Pleasure. “Pity Party” is a bold introduction, how did it become the foundation of your debut record?

Lydia Night: It felt like a thesis statement. I mean, a lyric from it ended up becoming the album title. This track summarizes the main themes of the record; trying to create something, being an artist, and it being so goddamn embarrassing and confusing. “Pity Party” is very woe is me, but acknowledging how grateful and lucky I am at the same time. 

“Little Doe” completely took me by surprise. Tell me everything about creating this genre-blending smash.

Earlier that day, my mom told me this quote about the concept of healthy aggression as a woman. My first thought was a doe, an innocent, gorgeous creature and how being a young woman can feel like that. The world wants you to be docile when it's convenient then be strong and powerful when that's convenient. I was on the treadmill listening to a rap song and there was an intro beat that I kept replaying over and over. I started coming up with melodies and lyrics that were so weird, and wrote the entire bridge on the treadmill. I went over to my friend Adam's house with almost the entire song and told him, “It's gonna sound so weird and not make sense, but I swear it's gonna be cool.” He had to really trust me. Making that song was one of the most satisfying experiences because it came out exactly how I envisioned it. That's rare. 

“The Hearse” is up next, what was the writing process and how did you choose it as the second single? 

We decided to completely lean into making a pop banger, from the playful side of it, to the drum line, to the vocal delivery. We wanted to make it silly, because the concept is silly. The pettiness and the ego driven lyrics, the way I sing “I was supposed to be the one to ditch you!” I feel that way a lot. It’s embarrassing, but it's also very human. Sometimes it’s easier to start acting like a little child. I was going through an experience where I totally did like this person, he was great, but he didn't want me in that way. My first reaction was “That's absolutely unacceptable.” 

“The Bomb” is another one of my favorites and I’m so glad it’s the next single. How did it come about? 

“The Bomb” was created at the same time as “The Hearse,” where we were just trying to make something fun. I had gotten notes telling me I was overcomplicating my lyrics, since I write a lot of wordy melodies. So, this song is me being like, “Okay, fuck you. I can write a simple song. I can dumb it down.” It started with trying to write the dumbest chorus ever, but we ended up falling in love with the concept. It’s about the cravings I have when I start talking to someone new. If I'm not feeling intensity and over the top disguises of love, then I feel insecure. It’s a simple song, but the concept is complex. 

“The Gutter” is so gritty and fun. What's the vibe in the studio when you're making a song like this? 

It was so fun to make. I recorded it last summer in New York when I was obsessed with this girl, so much that I literally felt disgusting. I felt like a creepy dude. I was thinking, “This is so gross. What's wrong with me?” I was talking about it in the studio and said, “My head's in the gutter.” I thought gutter was a really cool title and a fun concept, so we started playing around with it and the song came together so fast. We made “The Gutter” in around an hour. We were, again, not taking ourselves seriously. Some of the lyrics are so silly. Like, “We could be spies / We could go undercovers.” It's stupid, but I love it. 

I love how much this album breaks the fourth wall. What mindset were you in when you wrote “Puppet”? 

Adam was playing some simple chords in the studio and I started picturing myself as an old school jazz performer on some grand stage in a pretty dress. It made think about how long I've been performing and how it’s fucked with my head. This whole album ties back to the artist experience and what that means for me now, versus my past selves. “Puppet” felt like a very necessary topic to cover. The reality is that, even if you work with the best people in this industry, there's still something that happens to you when you’re young trying to create art that has both monetary and social value. The impact it’s had on me is something that I didn't realize until making this album. My stage presence has always been confident and wild, and that is a piece of me. But, there's another piece of me that's so scared of disappointing others. “Puppet” was a very therapeutic way to process that. 

It’s just the way the music industry is set up. It’s impossible to not feel that way, especially as a woman.

It's the system. There are so many other professions that are similar to it, especially in entertainment. And I didn't have shitty, stage parents. I had really present parents. I had supportive people around me who wanted to protect me. They did everything they could, but I still find myself fucked up by it.

“Meltdown” is another example of how this album progresses so perfectly. It really does feel like it's time to have a meltdown. 

“Meltdown” is the moment where I am really feeling the effects of “Puppet” and “Little Doe,” it makes me want to be insane. If people already are going to criticize me on the internet or make assumptions about who I am as a human, why not just let it all out? What would happen if I actually lost my shit? I've been so conditioned into being professional since I was a kid. But what if I acted like the asshole rockstar? It was so fun to poke the bear.

I love how “Trustfall” builds, instead of staying a simple ballad. 

I like to listen to music that builds and was definitely inspired by The 1975, how their ballads build into a dance-y outro. This song is about shaking off a relationship and whenever I get upset, I'm not a very still person. So, I wanted that to be reflected sonically.

“Lovedumb” is so relatable, I’ll always love the concept that having a crush makes you annoying. 

I literally played this for my friends and their response was, “At least you know you're like this.” The last thing I want to do is be that girl, but I am. One day I’m complaining that they haven't texted me back and then two days later I'm like, “Why did I let my whole day get consumed by that?” 

When listening to “Loaded Gun,” I thought about how this album shows parts of you that people might not know or may be surprised by. Does that inspire your writing? 

Totally. One of the most important aspects of making this album was deciding that if I’m gonna do this, it’s going to be in a holistic way. I need to cover a lot of ground. “Loaded Gun” is about paper and pen being a gun. If you piss me off, you are loading that gun and I'm going to write about you. My team and I keep talking about the idea of revenge pop, which I love. This is a fuck around and find out song. 

And it goes back to being a female artist, why does it feel like you're doing something wrong when everyone does that?

It’s so stupid! I’m 24 years old, do you think I have all of my shit aligned and want peace and love for everyone? 

“Chameleon” is so badass. I'm sure it was a cathartic song to write. 

I know how much shit I'm gonna get for it and that's kind of where “Loaded Gun” came from. Why do people feel a sense of entitlement to tell me how to feel or what I feel? I knew I needed to write one song about the situation. I obviously wrote so many songs about it, but this was the one that stuck. There were songs about so many different emotions, but “Chameleon” just had to be said because it's me admitting an emotion I would love to not feel. I don't want to be jealous of a new girlfriend. I don't want to be thinking about it, but I am. I'm not trying to attack anyone, but I am allowed to speak about my feelings. If anything, it's combatting the people that have so much to say about it. How dare people judge me for going through a breakup? I could have made multiple albums about it, but it's not about that. It’s about making a good song and "Chameleon" is a good song.

The progression into “Yes, Sir” is just perfect. People are going to relate to this one so hard.  

This song was written in a similar way as “Little Doe”, where I had the entire song basically finished in voice memos. There wasn't a specific guy I was writing about, I just had this weird moment on my walk to the train thinking about how it’s not fun to date right now. I needed this song as a reminder that my standards have to be higher. It’s the things you say to others, but truly need to say to yourself. Let’s all make a pact to stop dating dumbass boys.

“Art Sucks” is an incredible way to end your debut album and a great callback to where it started. I'm curious, at what point in the album process did you write this song? 

It was the first song I made. Isn't that funny? After the last Regrettes shows, I told my team I needed at least a month to do absolutely nothing. Within a few days, I started writing by myself and wrote the majority of this song in a voice memo. I sent it to Adam saying “Do you want to try working on this just for fun? There's no pressure, no one thinks I'm doing anything.” That’s when we realized we were making an album by accident. That's why it came together the way it did, because there weren't a lot of eyes on it in the beginning. “Art Sucks” felt like the perfect bookend to “Pity Party”, being about the blessing and curse that I deal with on a daily basis. Being an artist is what I connect everything back to, so what happens if I don't have that? What would happen if I went back to school and worked a “normal” job? I don't think any job is normal, but a job that isn’t in the creative world. Sometimes I romanticize the fuck out of that because I'm just so exhausted. But, I love it. The whole thing's just funny. 

The sense of humor that you put into this album makes it such a fun listening experience. It makes you think about parts of yourself that you’re ashamed of, but you have such an entertaining way of addressing it. 

That's why it was so important to end on this note. We're all going to die and we’re all trying our best. Nothing really matters or everything matters, it’s all a choice. That’s what I always come back to. Let me just live every day to the best of my ability and do what I love to do, which is make art…as much as it pains me. Fuck it. 

You explore perception and expectation a lot in this album, how are you feeling about it being out in the world?

This is the kind of album where singles don't tell the full story. I love the songs that I've put out, but they are more of a trauma dump. I'm excited for the context to exist. Who knows how many people will listen to the whole thing, but I hope that they pick up on the things that you've picked up on. 

What were you listening to and/or watching when making Parody of Pleasure?

I was watching Sex in the City for the first time. Also, the movie Paris, Texas inspired me so much visually. I was listening to obvious shit like old Britney, especially the Blackout album. 

I was gonna say I heard a lot of Britney in this album! 

That's been my favorite Britney album since I was little and I finally got to use it as a reference. Same with Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and The Sweet Escape. The rap genre also inspires me so much because of the attitude it brings. There's something about it where you can kind of just say anything. 

Who are your OnesToWatch? Who are you listening to that we should be listening to? 

I love Alexis Kesselman, who goes by Idarose. She was the main producer of my album and has been putting out solo music that's so good. I’m also really obsessed with Fakemink and Nate Sib. I would say to watch them. 

Listen to Lydia Night’s debut album Parody of Pleasure now: