GENRE: Pop/R&B
LABEL: Island
REVIEWED: 18th September, 2025
Rating: 7.2/10 – Fierce, flawed, and refreshingly unfiltered, Lola Young delivers an album that thrives on chaos and honesty.
Lola Young’s third album, I’m Only F**king Myself, is a daringly raw collection that leans into her reputation for unflinching honesty and emotional volatility. Written in the wake of her viral hit “Messy,” which became one of the most-streamed British songs of early 2025, the record channels both the chaos of her personal struggles and the intensity of her artistic growth. What emerges is an album that oscillates between sharp humor, confessional despair, and a refusal to smooth out the rough edges of her story.
The opener, “FUCK EVERYONE,” immediately sets the tone—a bold anthem steeped in indie-sleaze swagger, reveling in casual excess while brushing against underlying vulnerability. It’s followed by the woozy funk of “One Thing,” which pairs breezy grooves with lyrics haunted by doubt and insecurity. Young has always been adept at balancing swagger with fragility, and here she pulls it off with flair, creating songs that feel reckless yet deeply human.
Where the album shines brightest is in its darker moments. Tracks like “CAN WE IGNORE IT? :(” and “d£aler” strip back the gloss to reveal the bleak reality of addiction and avoidance. The latter, though deceptively light on the surface, pulses with desperation—a need to flee, to numb, to lose oneself. Her vocal delivery becomes the centerpiece here, switching effortlessly from raspy belts to hushed croons, each phrase steeped in raw feeling.
Yet Young doesn’t always hit the bullseye. At times, her conversational writing style tips into clunkiness, with lines that feel more like unedited diary entries than finished lyrics. “Not Like That Anymore,” for instance, carries an infectious energy but suffers from awkward metaphors that pull the listener out of the moment. Similarly, “SAD SOB STORY! :)” risks overloading its verses with too much exposition, weakening its emotional punch.
Still, these imperfections are part of Young’s appeal. She doesn’t aim for polished pop perfection but instead embraces the mess—quite literally—in all its contradictions. Songs like “SPIDERS,” a grunge-tinged ballad of near self-destruction, and “why do i feel better when i hurt you?” highlight her ability to turn personal flaws into universal confessions, sung with a voice that can both roar and whisper with equal conviction.
At its best, I’m Only F**king Myself feels like a cannonball hurled into a sea of sanitized pop. It’s messy, confrontational, sometimes frustrating, but always deeply alive. Lola Young continues the tradition of British truth-tellers like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, offering a brash, vulnerable, and uncompromising take on modern pop music.
