OUT NOW: ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND'S THIRD ALBUM 'LEAN IN' - LISTEN NOW

London-based producer and songwriter Art School Girlfriend returns with her third studio album Lean In, out now via Fiction Records — a bold, self-produced record that expands her atmospheric blend of alternative rock, electronic pop and ambient sound design.

Written, recorded and produced in her East London studio, Lean In finds the Wrexham-raised artist — real name Polly Mackey — stepping confidently from cult favourite into one of the UK’s most compelling artist-producers. The album builds on recent singles “L.Y.A.T.T.”, a shoegaze-meets-techno meditation on love, and “The Peaks,” which recently landed on the playlist at BBC Radio 6 Music.

Across ten tracks, Mackey explores the emotional contradictions of modern life — grief and joy, hope and anxiety, connection and isolation — creating music designed equally for solitary headphone listening and late-night dancefloor catharsis. “Over the last few years I’ve experienced what people call ‘Big Life Shit,’” she explains. “Everything in life felt distilled down to its purest essence — incredibly precious, but fragile.”

The record arrives at a moment of growing momentum for Art School Girlfriend. Beyond her solo work, Mackey has collaborated widely across the electronic and indie landscape, contributing to projects with Daniel Avery, Lane 8, Jasper Tygner and Ghostpoet. She’s also been tapped by Bonobo to DJ his Outliers series at Drumsheds, toured the US with The Japanese House and Marika Hackman, and continues to curate her long-running monthly show on Foundation FM.

Next month she’ll bring the new material to the stage on a UK headline tour, kicking off in Brighton before stopping in London, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester. Later in the summer she’ll return to Wales for a performance at the renowned Green Man Festival.

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