25. May 2018 By Walter Price 0

Coming of Age: Lily Allen – “Trigger Bang” ft. Giggs (No Shame)

Lily Allen, No Shame, available for order now on iTunes.

Yeah, this track has been out for a minute. Odd as it may be since I consider myself a Lily Allen fan that I just got around to listening to it. But I have now, and I’m digging it. No surprise.

Being a fan of Allen is kinda a large swath, to say the least. Her media presence causes as much love as it does a cringe at times. And it may seem like her pop-culture exposure overshadows her music output. But what you see is what you get, I do believe. She’s been upfront about her mistakes, pop missteps, addictions, and personal life. With great popstar-power comes great personal responsibility…or something.

Which one could say this single “Trigger Bang” (ft. Giggs), continues. Personal, candid, probably not flattering at bits memories told in verse à la vignettes. Coming of age really.

Couple notable examples come from one verse; Being on the wild-side of youth, missing popular afterschool TV programming may seem benign, but it is something we can all relate to. Myself, we had Happy Days and CHiPs and they couldn’t be missed. Until the teenage angst sunk in and outside forces took control. That moment of transition from ‘innocent child’ into the explorative is as tactile as it is everlasting.

When I was young I was blameless
Playin’ with rude boys and trainers
I had a foot in the rave ’cause I was attracted to danger
I never got home for Neighbors, hey
When I grew up, nothing changed much
Anything went, I was famous
I would wake up next to strangers
Everyone knows what cocaine does
Numbing the pain when the shame comes, hey

What may not be relatable per se, is the part of the track where fame leads to drug abuse and sexual, misunderstandings. Most explore and suffer these experiences in University, but probably on a lower scale (allegedly) than Allen. But you get the gist.

All and all, “Trigger Bang” is an earnest insight into the past and through to the present inner working of the life of one of Pop music’s most integral stars. (A precursor to her upcoming autobiography?) The addition of the hypnotic intro by, new to me, London rapper Giggs is something to behold. And now I’ll be digging myself into a rabbit hole trying to find out more about this lyricist. Gladly.

Lily Allen’s forthcoming album No Shame will hit the streets on 8 June 2018 (Parlophone / WMG). Check out the video below and for longtime Allen fans, see if you can catch all the references to the past.