There’s so much to unpack with Lazy Day’s music and songwriting. On surface level, their intoxicating use of melody beguiles at every turn, but once you sit with the songs themselves, and allow them to seep down, the lyrics break open to reveal entire worlds.
Debut album ‘Open The Door’ is out on November 8th via Brace Yourself Records, and it’s a quiet triumph. There’s a literate side to Lazy Day’s work, with their exacting precision giving you the impression that every single word is cared for.
You can catch Lazy Day on a headline run in February, but before then make time for the songwriter on a run of in-stores, including London’s Rough Trade West on November 13th
Ahead of all that, CLASH caught up with Lazy Day – real name Tilly Scantlebury – for Their Library, probing the contents of their bookshelves.
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What is your favourite book and why?
I mostly read non-fiction for my academic research, but the fiction book I just finished is maybe one of my favourite books I’ve ever read — The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. It’s a queer story woven with Jewish history. It’s written with such precision, and plays with form in a really interesting way. Set predominantly in a family home, the house itself becomes almost like a central character itself. I really enjoy books that create tight and specific microcosms of setting and atmosphere. After I finished it I took it upon myself to convince everyone else to read it too.
What other authors do you like?
Torrey Peters, Jack Halberstam, K Patrick, Bess Kalb, Carmen Maria Machado, Lamya H, Sara Ahmed, Sarah Winman, Isabel Waidner, Emerson Whitney, McKenzie Wark.
What draws you to certain books?
I find it quite hard to pick my own books (maybe it’s choice panic, maybe it’s fear of committing), so I really like it when my friends recommend something to me. Then even if I end up not liking the book, I love being able to talk about it with them after. I think almost all of my favourite novels have been put in my hands by other people.
Have you ever discovered a real lost classic? What is it and why?
I think I’d classify Nevada by Imogen Binnie as a lost classic. It was published in 2013 and I’d never heard of it until it came back into circulation in the UK when Picador published it in 2022. It’s been said to be a landmark of trans literature, and it changed my perspective on what a narrator/main protagonist should deliver to the reader — Maria is flawed and opaque and her story remains so unresolved. I came to Nevada through another one of my favourite books, Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. Peters cited Nevada as being her main influence, and a trailblazer for the genre of trans realism. Both Nevada and Detransition, Baby were gifts in the literal and theoretical sense!
Do your literary influences have a direct impact on your songwriting?
My debut record Open the Door in many ways is a musical response to my PhD research. Which was actually prompted by a book! I found Art and Queer Culture in a second hand bookshop in New York. It stood out from the shelf because it was absolutely massive, had the word QUEER in huge letters, and a photograph of a Catherine Opie artwork on it. When I saw that book, I knew I wanted to be part of that conversation. I hope Open the Door does that for people too.
What are you reading at the moment?
All Fours by Miranda July which I’m really enjoying. Although it’s becoming increasingly harder to read on my morning commute because it’s really NSFW. A bit like Maria in Nevada, I love what an incredibly unusual narrator we’re given. She provides a very novel (at times unnerving, at others really beautiful) view of intimacy and secrecy.
What is the first book you remember reading as a child?
There’s a book all about the different poos that animals do, all the shapes and sizes and maybe even smells? I was very into that. I’ve just looked it up and it’s called The Story of the Little Mole who knew it was none of his business. You’re welcome!
Have you ever found a book that you simply couldn’t finish?
I’m quite dyslexic, so I find myself abandoning books often. If it doesn’t grab me, or change my thinking, or make the hard work worth it, then the relationship is over! I don’t want to name and shame, but I tried to read a Sally Rooney and I simply could not.
Would you ever re-read the same book?
I read Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters more than once but that feels like a slightly dirty secret?
Have you ever identified with a character in a book? Which one and why?
I find myself relating to characters a lot—if the writing is good enough I feel like it’s entirely possible to relate to people who are nothing like you. A good example of this strong identification was in Bess Kalb’s Nobody Will Tell You This But Me. The central relationship is between the protagonist and her grandmother. They talk every day, and the grandmother teaches her about her familial Jewish heritage, filtered through the framework of phone calls and voicemails. It’s a pretty amazing view of generational connection, as well as the inevitable historical differences that each of them has to reconcile. Shout out to my grandma who I love so very much.
Is there an author you would like to collaborate with?
My wife is an author, shout out Eleanor Crewes, available in all reputable bookshops. We’ve already collaborated a lot together on Lazy Day, but I know that we’ll also write something together one day. Ideas already in the works, watch out.
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Photo Credit: Eleanor Crewes
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