"I absolutely adored being in The Regrettes, but I feel so empowered about going solo," says Lydia Night, a week before she drops her debut single 'Pity Party'. "I'm almost ashamed of how good I feel right now."

With The Regrettes, Lydia made three albums of woozy, pop-infused rock, but after struggling to find a direction for the follow-up to 2022's 'Further Joy', the band announced their break up. "It was such a fulfilling journey, and I didn't want it to ever feel like we were beating a dead horse," Lydia tells Dork. "It was just this gut feeling that things were over, which was scary as fuck."

The band finished up a farewell tour in December 2022, and the following month, Lydia began writing what would become her debut solo album. It's due out later this year and takes inspiration from 'Blackout’–era Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, The 1975 and Gorillaz. "I know I'm going to lose some people with this music, but I hope I make fans of The Regrettes proud," she says.

Our first taste of this new era is 'Pity Party', a ballsy statement of intent from an artist who wants to make pop music her way. "I wrote maybe 50 demos, and there were a lot of great songs – but a lot of them felt like music that anybody could make. The goal for me was to make pop songs that only Lydia Night could make."

A Lydia Night song is self-deprecating but also delusionally confident, she explains. "I can make fun of myself while also knowing I'm awesome and a bad bitch. That's the vibe. We're all embarrassing; we're all fucking idiots at times. It's about owning that, but also talking about my feelings and feeling powerful."

Sitting in the centre of the sonic world Lydia has crafted for her debut album, 'Pity Party' is the perfect introduction to this new chapter. The first idea for the track came back in 2021, and the song has gone through several evolutions over the years, including being mashed up with another work in progress.

"She's a special one," says Lydia. "As soon as we made it, I knew it should start the album because it touches on all the darker bits that come up in the album later, but it still has this brightness to it. There's a lot of cathartic energy."

The song is about wanting people to validate your experiences because you can't do it yourself. "'Pity Party' is a trauma dump," says Lydia. "I've cried so many times listening to it. There's a lot of fun shit coming but I needed to tell this story first, otherwise everything would just feel too bubblegum pop."

"The song is very specific to me, so I really don't know what other people will make of it. I just hope they can laugh at themselves a little bit and feel less alone. Everyone has their own cocktail of trauma that they've been through, and it's okay to feel sorry for yourself… but being able to laugh about it is important as well," she explains. "I know that's the only way I'm able to get through."

According to Lydia, her upcoming album is fun, weird and imperfect. "Nothing is too shiny. You can hear that I wrote it in two people's bedrooms that I'm really close to, where I was crying my eyes out but also laughing my ass off. It's been the most real recording process I've ever had," Lydia continues, describing it as friends hanging out and making music together. "The whole thing feels very personal, like we're sitting together in a room, and we're complaining about some fucking dude or talking about how I'm super into this girl. It's very conversational."

A lot of the music is also about acknowledging the darkness but choosing to find the light, which feels like an important energy to be putting out into the world right now. "Obviously, everything is fucked, and there's nothing new I can say on that, but all we have in our little blips of a lifetime is other people, love, laughter and all that cheesy but true shit," she says. "Music is such a beautiful way to communicate with each other but also enjoy your own presence." Last night, Lydia got home, put on Tyla and danced around her house for 30 minutes. "I hope people do that with my music. It's so important to just be silly sometimes."

As well as the album, there are also plans in place for live shows later this year. "And thank God because I've missed it so much," she grins. "I want a Lydia Night gig to be a big-ass dance party where people are just moving however the hell they want. I want it to offer people a release in whatever way they need and for them to leave feeling refreshed."

"I'm ambitious. I can see myself playing really big rooms but not at the cost of putting out music that I don't believe in," she says. "I'm just doing shit because it feels right. Sometimes, that'll result in terrible decisions and sometimes, it'll work. I'm only 24… what better time to do that?"

Her personality-driven pop also comes at a time when messy, complex and giddy pop has taken over the world thanks to artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx and Sabrina Carpenter.

"It's a super inspiring time. Pop is at its best when it's not ashamed of being fun. I love unapologetically fun music that people can sing along with and dance to." The most inspiring artist from this new crop of superstars is Billie Eilish. "She changed what a pop artist can be. Everyone came to her and she just continued to do what felt right for her. She's never wavered, and I don't plan on wavering either."

"There's something about being confident and bringing that to the table, while also being messy, making those mistakes and letting that be okay," Lydia continues. "No matter what happens, I'm excited. My album is deliberately imperfect, but that's what being human is. I hope people see me as just another person trying their best because what else is there?"