Since her teenage years, Lydia Night has been penning lyrics laced with razor-sharp wit, magnetic charisma, and unflinching honesty.
That unapologetic expression formerly showcased as frontwoman of The Regrettes, the 24-year-old’s debut solo album takes a slightly different path to the punk-tinged aggression of her past project, but one certainly no less candid.
A vibrant, chaotic love letter to the pop artists that have inspired Lydia, ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ takes the vibrant hues of genre icons Gwen Stefani, Madonna, and Britney Spears and filters them through her uniquely self-aware lens. Packed tightly with the brutally confessional songwriting that’s always set her apart, no topic is off limits across these thirteen tracks, from the exasperation of modern dating to the pressures of performance and the confusion of her own spiralling thoughts. Satirical and sincerely gut-wrenching in equal measure, it’s an unguarded exploration of identity, vulnerability, and the absurdities of life.
Taking her first steps as a solo artist, Lydia talks Rock Sound through ten lyrics from ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ that capture the story behind her most personal work to date.
“I love the way I really hate myself // I profit off a lack of mental health // My mood shows up on a conveyor belt // It’s crushing, my guts are on the floor” ‘Pity Party’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“There’s something that I feel like I have in common with a lot of my other artist friends. We will make a poor decision, or be going through something, and have this moment where we think, ‘I’m going to write about this’. It becomes this weird pattern, and sometimes it can be really healthy, but other times it just feels sick and twisted. You can forget the fact that you’re a human being who needs to experience joy and exist outside of their career and their art. Things can get messy. The idea of my mood showing up on a conveyor belt comes from those times where I’m in a state of depression or anxiety. When I’m going through that, it feels like things are shifting constantly, and that I’m pouring them all out onto the floor for people. That’s what art is.”
“It’s a parody of pleasurе // Lips big and red like a clown // It’s all just a pity party // So cry for me or gеt out” ‘Pity Party’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“The whole ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ concept comes from the lack of wanting to fully commit to vulnerability, being joyful, or making a pop album. This whole process is scary for me, and it feels like it could be cringy or embarrassing, but if it’s a parody of pleasure… I’m just doing it ironically. There’s this wall of protection that’s put up, and that feels very meta and interesting. It summarised what I was going through during the creation of the album. I wanted to lean into that, and it’s essentially poking fun at the idea of being an artist. You’re like, ‘Here are all my problems, look at me, look at me’. It’s ridiculous!”
“Doe a deer, a female deer // Ray, I’m gonna get the gun // Me, the one to shoot you down // Far, away you’ll have to run” ‘Little Doe’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“I started writing this song when I was on the treadmill at the gym. I was listening to some rap song, and I just kept playing the intro beat again and again. I was singing things over it, and I was so inspired by it. I had my headphones in singing along like an absolute weirdo. That bridge, including the melody and the lyrics, stayed the exact same. I have the voice memo of me on the treadmill, and it really didn’t change. It shows how fucked up my brain is, but I love the flip of being this hunted little innocent deer, and then suddenly going, ‘Oh, really? That’s so funny, because I’m going to kill you’.”
“Oh, baby, that kinda hurt // I was supposed to pull up the hearse // Wow, baby, I’m in the dirt // I was supposed to break your heart first” ‘The Hearse’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“It’s such a simple concept, but we wanted to have a fun twist on it. That’s where the idea of ‘The Hearse’ came from. I grew up with very weird goth parents who love death and shit, so this wound up being an ode to them too. That was the best way I could describe what it feels like to get rejected by someone that you never thought would be able to hurt you. It’s a petty feeling, but it’s a relatable one. When you’re like, ‘Excuse me, this is what I was supposed to do. How dare you?!’ It’s so ridiculous, because we’re all just human beings.”
“My therapist likes you, but what does she know? // She’s probably married to another John Doe // We seem so healthy, so I don’t feel well // I want the kind of love that takes me to hell” ‘The Bomb’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“This song’s all about my discomfort when I’m in the process of dating someone and I’m not being love bombed. It sounds weird, but I struggle when I’m not being ambushed with intensity. That intensity can easily be confused for love in my mind. This line directly came from a situation where I had a really big crush on someone, and I would go into therapy and be like, ‘She’s not obsessing over me and she’s not freaking out over things’. My therapist would be like, ‘Okay, so it’s good. It’s healthy, this is what you want’. The idea of me shrugging off my therapist as if she knows anything is funny to me… What else am I paying her for?!”
“Let’s make a girl // To run the world // She’ll sing on stage // With graceful rage // Put her on a tour bus then teach her how to yell, ‘Thank you New York Thank you New York’ // Then put her on a TV // Have her selling pills, the skinny cure // They told me I’m the one” ‘Puppet’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“‘Puppet’ felt like a really important song for me to make for this album. This is the first time I’m putting out an album under my name, and it’s also the first time I’m making an album as a real independent adult. When we made the last The Regrettes album, obviously I was an adult, but I was in a serious, codependent relationship, and there was a lot of influence from that. I did a lot of reflecting during the writing process for this album. I signed a record deal when I was 15, and I wouldn’t change that, but there’s a lot of subconscious decision-making and pressure that is absorbed. I’ve been lucky to work with so many amazing people over the years, but you’re still getting up in front of a bunch of suits as a kid. You’re exposing yourself, and being young and having all these feelings is so confusing. You want to impress everybody in the room. ‘Puppet’ was so easy to write, almost effortless. There was so much that I hadn’t even realised I needed to write about, but it felt so good to do it.”
“You say one good thing and I’m running from the house // I don’t wanna let you in, I just wanna let you down // You do one dumb thing and I’m biting off your hand // I’m so over understanding, rest in peace the bigger man // So, can a girl just have a meltdown?” ‘Meltdown’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“This one’s funny, but it’s weird too. Really, it’s just my trust issues pouring out. One second, you’re saying you love someone then the next it’s like, ‘Oh God, you’re getting too close to me’. Of course, I actually want to let someone in, and I don’t want to let them down… But I act on this weird instinct of, ‘Don’t come closer, I’d rather just disappoint you’. It’s poking fun at myself and the way that I’ve operated in all kinds of relationships. The ‘rest in peace the bigger man’ part is a summary of when you just want to have a freak out. Sometimes I want to stop being so put together and being this professional person. I want to be fucking messy and freak out a little bit sometimes.”
“Wake up you’ll wanna hear this mess // I dance with demons in my head // You’ve never seen me seeing red // Come a little closer now” ‘Loaded Gun’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“This song was written about a theme that comes up a lot across the album. The loaded gun represents a pen and paper to me. It’s like, ‘You’re pissing me off, so I’m gonna go write about you’. The ‘seeing red’ part is almost a threat. Come a little closer, fuck around and find out.”
“I had a type // But I burned it to the ground // Went for the ones that kept me guessing // They’d pour a drop and I would drown // I can’t believe that I invested // So many hours into men // Who should probably be arrested // I’d never do that shitagain” ‘You Sir’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“This is my favourite song on the album, and it feels so important to me. I have to remind myself of these things because I’ve given too much time to people who don’t even deserve to speak to me. It’s a scale, and I’m touching on a lot of it. I’ve been in abusive situations, and those are the people that should be arrested. Then, there are those people who’d give me a crumb and I’d totally eat it up. That’s such a common experience, and dating is weird and hard. It’s difficult to find someone who is on the same page as you, and this song was my way of saying, ‘Fuck, I’m so exhausted by this. I don’t even want any of you’. I wrote it to be my reminder before talking to someone or going on a date. It’s the standard I’m setting.”
“I’m like a river, in the winter // With one touch, you’ll see me cracking // I’m like a poet, who doesn’t know it // I’m just an artist with a star wish and a bitten tongue” ‘Art Sucks’ – ‘Parody Of Pleasure’ (2025)
“This was the first song I wrote for the album. It’s poking fun at the whole artist archetype again, but this time it’s saying, ‘I’m out here, but with one little touch you’re gonna fucking break me’. I’ll act so tough, but I’m the most sensitive bitch, and it sucks. This line is about the stupidity of being a musician, and I find it so ridiculous. I love the line ‘I’m just an artist with a star wish and a bitten tongue’ though, and that summarises where I’m at in my life now. I want to be this huge star with this great pop career, but I’m so scared of saying what I want to say. How do I do that in the modern world with the ways that we market music now? Sometimes it just feels fucked.
This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, all I’ve ever loved, and all I’ve ever known. Being a musician is the most rewarding thing in the world, but it’s also the biggest curse. I don’t know how to separate myself from my art, and I don’t know how to live without everything going back to making music and performing. I could just quit and go work at a restaurant, or go back to school, and I have that existential crisis a lot. I do it because I love making music though, and I love playing shows. I wouldn’t change it for the world, but that internal battle is something a lot of artists don’t talk about. They don’t want to seem ungrateful, but I know a lot of people feel the same. You want the truth about being a musician? This shit can suck, but it’s so beautiful as well.”
