Art School Girlfriend Unveils 'Lean In'
London artist and producer Polly Mackey, known as Art School Girlfriend, has announced her third full-length album titled Lean In. The album releases on March 11 via Fiction Records, following her previous work Soft Landing from 2023.[1][3][5]
Background and Creative Process
Mackey crafted and produced Lean In in her East London studio, drawing from a period of personal reflection and creative transformation. Her music intertwines elements of alternative rock, electronic pop, and ambient experiments, inviting listeners into her sonic world.[3][5]
New Single: 'The Peaks'
- The album's lead single, ‘The Peaks’, was released on November 19, 2025, and features emotional lyrics and immersive production.[1][3]
- This track follows the September single ‘L.Y.A.T.T.’ and both songs explore themes of fragility and clarity in life.[3][1]
“During the making of this album, there was a period of time when everything around me felt fragile — the things worth living for came into focus with a kind of hyperreal clarity. It’s a beautiful but health anxiety-inducing thing to realise: how lucky we are to be here. The lyrics are desperate and widescreen: ‘I want to give you the peaks, don’t slip, hold me.’ The production and arrangement are designed to overwhelm, with peaks and troughs, offering moments of deep calm amidst the waves of relentless beats and stuttering synths.”
“Last year, I decided that I would stop releasing music altogether. I continued going to my studio and making music purely for the way it allows my brain access a different plane and way of being; for the process over the outcome. That decision unlocked a period of intense creativity like I've never experienced before; I got obsessed and very existential. This is the sound of me going deeper, being filled with questions I don't have the answer to, but maybe figuring out what the point of life is - afforded by a studio of one's own and those around me.”
Track Listing
- Doing Laps
- L.Y.A.T.T.
- The Field
- Down The Line
- Almost Transparent
- Save Something
- The Peaks
- Hope More, Hopeless
- Lines
- Framer
Production and Impact
Mackey's self-produced record marks a significant evolution in her artistic approach, moving beyond her hallmarks of emotional shoegaze electronics into a richer, more diverse sound palette. Her recent collaborations and DJ performances have also widened her influence in the British music scene.[5]
Photo Credit: Zak Watson (@zak_watson).[1]
“Lean In was self-produced in her own East London studio and sees Art School Girlfriend set to move from cult bedroom artist to one of the UK’s most vital artist/producers operating at the moment.”
Author's Summary
Art School Girlfriend’s new album Lean In emerges as a deeply personal, genre-defying project, blending introspective themes with immersive production to mark a pivotal moment in Polly Mackey’s career.[5][3][1]