Lila Forde’s Life Can Still Be Sweet feels like the kind of record that gets better the longer you spend with it. Her sophomore album is full of musical details, from Hammond B3 and Wurlitzer to guitars, synths, drum machines and layered harmonies, but its biggest strength is how naturally those elements come together.

Forde has a musical vocabulary that reaches across generations. Jazz, soul, folk, country and old-school American songwriting all have a place in her sound, but Life Can Still Be Sweet never feels like an exercise in recreating the past. Instead, she takes those influences and uses them to tell stories that belong to her own life.

There is an ease to the album that can initially disguise just how much is happening underneath it. Forde sings about relationships, friendships, roommates, family and the complications of becoming an adult, but the arrangements keep the record moving. The songs have warmth and swing, with live musicianship giving the album a sense of spontaneity and personality.

That quality is especially apparent on “Do It All Over.” Co-written with Marcel Camargo and Joey Dosik, the song carries the relaxed feeling of a perfect summer day. Brazilian guitar influences, soulful songwriting and Forde’s own vocal warmth combine into something loose and inviting. It is the kind of track that feels built for a drive with the windows down or a late afternoon spent outside.

“Fantasies” takes the album somewhere slightly more restless. Built around an unusual percussion part created by Kaveh Rastegar knocking directly on an acoustic bass, the song mirrors the circular nature of its subject: becoming increasingly absorbed in an imagined version of someone. Forde captures the excitement and absurdity of letting a fantasy take over, giving the track a playful edge without losing its emotional honesty.

Then there is “Wildflowers,” a quieter and more reflective moment. Originally inspired by the end of a friendship, the song has expanded in meaning for Forde, becoming a meditation on the moment when something can no longer be ignored. Its jazz-tinged atmosphere gives the song room to breathe, allowing the emotional realization at its center to unfold gradually.

The album’s emotional centerpiece is “Molly,” written about Forde’s mother. It is a striking departure from some of the record’s lighter moments, with a vocal performance filled with tenderness and grief. The song gives the album additional weight without changing its overall spirit. Instead, it makes the record’s central idea feel more convincing. Sweetness means more when it exists alongside genuine difficulty.

Forde’s own description of the album captures the range she wanted to embrace:

“It is with immense pride and gratitude, I give you ‘Life Can Still Be Sweet’ my sophomore record, out everywhere today.

This collection of songs chronicles the adventures, challenges and wonder of a girl as she becomes a woman. There’s heartbreak, lust, roommate drama, a parent getting sick, friend breakups, breakup breakups, three part harmony, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3, guitars, synths, drum machines, a lot of heart and soul, a little twang to make the soup just right.

I’m so grateful to be able to do what I love in this lifetime. There is no greater joy. Thank you God!!!! and thank YOU for supporting me!

I’m in tears and disbelief this record is finally out. It feels like a true representation of who I am as an artist and a person right at this moment, and that feels special. Thank you for listening, I hope it makes you feel something ❤️
-Lila”

What ultimately distinguishes Life Can Still Be Sweet is that Forde does not separate the personal from the musical. The record sounds like an artist discovering how much she can say when she trusts her instincts, surrounds herself with musicians she connects with and allows songs to retain some of their rough edges and humor.

There are no shortage of records about growing up, falling in love or getting your heart broken. Forde makes those subjects feel fresh by paying attention to the smaller details: the crowded house, the person you cannot stop thinking about, the friendship that quietly ends, the family member who changes, the good day you wish could last forever.

Life Can Still Be Sweet is a record about those moments, but it is also a record about sound. Warm, soulful and full of character, it finds Forde stepping further into her identity as a songwriter and musician while leaving plenty of room for the joy that brought her there in the first place.