The chorus line "Just come and beam me up" sounds like a romantic escapist fantasy, but La Roux (real name Elly Jackson) makes it clear: it's about the moment she wants to just disappear, to give up trying to fix herself. New single "Lose Myself" is the third track released from her fourth studio album *Old Flames*, out November 6 via Vertigo Records.
Jackson describes the song as "an angel and devil duking it out on your shoulder" — the verses are her trying to kick the habit, working hard to hold herself together, while the chorus is the urge to give up entirely and just let herself get completely lost. She says the song is essentially a battle: to give herself enough love and respect to break that cycle.
The bridge lyrics lay it out even more plainly: "Stoned me you're never gonna leave." She's singing about years of using weed as self-medication after being diagnosed with auADHD — something she can now look back on and recognize as avoidance, not a solution.
Musically, the track has been described as carrying the dramatic forward momentum of mid-90s Michael Jackson's "Earth Song," echoing his duet with Janet Jackson on "Scream." Wrapping a confession about addiction and self-loathing in such an exaggerated, almost declarative pop framework is exactly what makes the song so interesting.
Before "Lose Myself," *Old Flames* had already released two singles, "Babyline" and "Cabin Fever." The album marks a long-awaited follow-up to 2020's *Supervision*, with Jackson directly confronting the end of a 17-year relationship while touching on forbidden love, the loneliness that comes with addiction, and the struggle to reconcile her sexuality and identity under public scrutiny. Lyrically, she references David Lynch and *Donnie Darko*, and the album overall has been described as immersive and nostalgic while still looking forward.
As Jackson puts it: "This record is honest about how things really are — who I am, what I'm like. It's a process of admitting where I went wrong, and through telling these stories, accepting where I am now." She also frames the whole album as a farewell to a certain kind of romance and lifestyle, including a musical goodbye.
*Old Flames* features 11 tracks total, including "Old Flames (Intro)," "Cabin Fever," "Lose Myself," "Falling," "To Make Our Love," "Your Lover," "Final Fantasy," "Night Vision," "I Just Keep Crying," "Baby Line," and the title track "Old Flames." La Roux will also tour the US, UK, Ireland, and Australia this year as support for Hilary Duff, with UK and Ireland tickets already on sale.
