La La Delivery prefers to keep things fun and simple.

The Lansing, Michigan, trio celebrates being present and adopts an easygoing mindset on its latest EP, Enjoy the Journey.

“At this point, I would say it’s sonically closing a chapter,” said Lindsey Taylor, the vocalist and guitarist for La La Delivery. “After this, we’re in more of our fun era. We have to close that [old] chapter of our lives and move forward. We’re going to be a little sillier from here on out.”

Along with bassist James Mitchell and drummer Dan Zanetti, Taylor takes a lighthearted but intentional approach to La La Delivery’s songs about overthinking life, feeling nostalgic, and overcoming depression.

“There will still be some melancholy that writes its way in there because that doesn’t just go away,” she said. “You can’t control how it comes out of you, because when you write, it’s just gonna be what it is. You just have to let it come out and get it out of your system.”

Enjoy the Journey also reflects the personal thoughts and experiences of all three members since the pandemic.

“A lot has gone on both in the world and individually for all of us,” Mitchell said. “This EP definitely feels like we have gone through so much. We are—like Lindsey said—closing that chapter and headed toward something [new].”

Like the band, listeners can explore those relatable themes and moments through contemplative songs and introspective lyrics.

“Just like anything, it’s a craft, and we just keep building on it,” Zanetti said. We keep honing, finding efficiencies, and learning. It’s just one big learning opportunity and growth for all of us.”

Sonically, the six tracks on Enjoy the Journey come to life through ethereal vocals, vibrant electric guitars, thumping bass, and driving drums. The EP also reflects a variety of styles, ranging from indie rock and shoegaze to post-punk and alternative rock.

I recently spoke with La La Delivery about the inspiration behind Enjoy the Journey.

Q: How did you form the band?

James Mitchell (JM): We’ve been playing together as La La Delivery since 2017 or 2018—with some breaks. There’s a history, and there’s a flow between us.

Dan and I met after high school. We jammed in 2007 and became friends. Years ago, I was in a band with someone else, and I was working a lot. During that time, our mutual friend Sam started another band with Lindsey. Sam was babysitting my kid while hanging out with Lindsey. I came home one day and found Lindsey in my garage.

Lindsey Taylor (LT): I met Sam through the local music scene in Lansing. We bonded over punk rock and a band called Wire. It’s always crazy to find someone out in the wild who likes your nerdy shit. Jimmy had Wire’s album Pink Flag out in his living room, and I said, “That’s a great album.”

We all bonded immediately over punk rock, but eventually, that band I was in dissolved. I was Jimmy’s roommate at the time, and I said, “I just want to keep making music.” Dan had also played in that last band, and this is the continuation of people going their separate ways. This is the carryover band from everyone being young in their 20s.

Q: How did you select your band name?

LT: Honestly, I was just writing in my notebook one day. I was writing down random things and wrote “delivery” and “musical delivery.” And then I went a different route and wrote “La La Delivery,” and I cracked up and thought, “That’s kinda silly.”

But I also thought it was catchy. I didn’t want to have too cool a band name; I just wanted it to be a little silly, and I hope that it lands. As long as the band name matches whatever style of music you’re doing, I think it’s good to match the energy. Our joke is that we’re only doing “oohs” and “ahs” when we sing and no “la las.”

JM: We crucially never sing “la la” in any of our songs.

Dan Zanetti (DZ): I said, “Call it whatever you want to.” I just love being in a band. I do love the name, and I think it fits us perfectly.

Q: What did you learn while working on your debut EP, From Within?

LT: We took pieces of ideas that we had previously done. I wasn’t sure if Jimmy wanted to play bass, so I wrote all the basslines, guitars, and lyrics. Dan did the drums. It was like Frankensteining a band a little bit, and I was doing what I could to make it happen. We were re-emerging, but now we’re a collective unit again.

I would consider it a trial run of learning how to record and finding confidence. I feel like you have to find your own voice as you’re recording because it’s very different than playing live. It took a lot of mental strength to make it happen.

There’s so much nuance to recording. We were finding that timing on the songs is really big, especially when your tempos are huge. We were also finding out how to track the songs efficiently. It all comes together eventually, but there’s so much to consider.

JM: You spend so much time practicing your instrument, and then you practice with a band. And then you go into a recording studio, and you think, “What am I doing?” That’s the least amount of time you spend as far as practicing and doing your craft, but it really came together.

Q: How did a lyric from “Nostalgia” lead to the EP’s title?

LT: I wanted to tie it into the whole general theme of finding a way to enjoy yourself through it all. I would say that was the main thought process.

Q: “Lackadaisical Freaks” examines feeling directionless and making the most of life. How did it become a song about changing priorities?

LT: That was an oldie we rehashed. We did one recording of that, and it just wasn’t that great when we did it, so we built on it again. I’m channeling myself and the people around me. We’re these weird, artsy freaks, and I was trying to make that a fun, lighthearted song.

It’s saying, “Let’s just make the most of who we are. It’s all good, so just relax, and it will be OK.” It’s generally the feeling of being an artist in this world. It will land with anyone who resonates with it.

JM: It’s fun to play.

DZ: If I recall, that was the first song I think we all made together. We’ve been riffing on that one for a while. I’m really glad we all collectively agreed to that because it’s such a good song, and now we have a great recording.

Q: “Tendency to Overthink” addresses past experiences with second-guessing and self-doubt. How did those experiences spark this track?

DZ: It says, “You’re overthinking that you’re overthinking.”

LT: I was channeling a little bit of the political feeling as well. It’s easy to hear about all these horrible things going on, but we have to keep fighting. We have to put our best foot forward as a broad worldview. We gotta do our best with healthy habits, and the simple life really is key.

Q: “Cause and Effect (Interlude)” is a groovy, psychedelic garage-rock instrumental. How did it come about?

DZ: That was all spontaneous because we noodle and riff together. That’s one of those random moments that we had in between songs during a practice.

LT: Jimmy might have started the bassline, and we all responded to that. It was intentional to do a few instrumentals, and I’ve always liked EPs where there are random instrumentals. I wanted to break up the energy because “Overcomplicating the Game” is a melancholy song. I wanted to break that up with something silly and spontaneous and then head into “Nostalgia” after that.

Q: How does “Cause and Effect (Interlude)” help set the tone for “Nostalgia?”

LT: We were thinking, “Here’s a little breather, so we’ll just set this right there.” There wasn’t a lot of conscious thought about the sequencing of the songs—that came after the fact. Usually, we record everything and then see how it goes together.

We wanted it there as a reference point of what it’s like when we’re practicing. Our little jams will start with those, and that’s what that was, but we intentionally recorded it.

Q: “Escape the Blues” explores rediscovering your purpose and feeling hopeful about the future. How did adopting a new perspective inspire this song?

LT: It just felt like it needed to be at the end. It’s got a vibe of closure, and to me, it almost has a lazy, shoegazey energy about it, too. It wouldn’t have made sense anywhere else on the album. It’s nice to close it on the thought of: “We’re getting out of this tight spot; let’s move on now.” It’s overcoming your depression and things like that.

Q: What was your recording process like for Enjoy the Journey?

JM: We came over about once a week for [several] weeks [to the studio], and we would get set up and just rip through a few takes of each song. Then, we’d come back a few weeks later to retrack or redo a song if we thought we had a better understanding of what we were doing. There were a few times we played based on what we felt, but when we recorded it, we had to understand it more [academically]. We did that over a month or two.

LT: We mostly did all the tracking, and then I went crazy with all the overdubs. I was actually done with everything, and I did the writing in the studio with the lyrics and the extra overdubs. There was a lot of post-production after we did that initial tracking and mixing.

DZ: When looking back on it, it was such a good learning experience because we really dissected everything. As Jimmy said, it was very academic and clinical. I learned a whole lot just being a drummer, and really just how to listen. It was really good to go through.

Q: What elements did engineer Ryan Bliton help bring to the EP’s sound?

LT: I would say he definitely helped shape the sound, and he did help take that role of a producer at certain points. He did a lot of synthesizer notes on the EP, too. He provided insights on how things were feeling and if our tempos needed to get tighter.

It was also the way we were attacking our instruments, and he’d say, “Hang back a little bit there.” Ryan wants everything to sound professional, and he does a good job at that. He helped me grow as a musician by saying, “Hey, you can do a better take.” It’s good to have a second opinion and someone that you can trust.

JM: Ryan’s very much a recording and audio engineer, and that definitely came out. We’re better for it.

Q: Lindsey, how did your family become involved with recording the EP?

LT: Lauryn Taylor is my sister, and she plays bass on “Escape the Blues.” We tracked that song in the fall of 2024, and she did that bassline. My dad, Will Taylor, loves to play harmonica, and he said, “Let me play a little harmonica.”

He played with “Lackadaisical Freaks” when he heard it, and I said, “Let’s get you in the studio.” That was one of the later things we tracked, and he was just so happy to do it.

Q: How do your practice sessions help produce new material?

LT: We practice weekly, usually on Mondays. We’ll all just mutually start playing something and run with it. We record phone demos and compile clips of the recordings. Lately, Jimmy is laying down the grooviest basslines ever, and I’ll say, “Wait, we’re recording that night now.” I’ll just try to come up with something. I’m also taking that time to finalize lyrics and get an actual song structure.

JM: We’re all noodlers when we practice. Sometimes, Dan will be playing a beat, and we’ll say, “Oh, that’s kind of neat.” I’ll hop on, and then Lindsey will jump on. Then, 20 minutes later, we have three parts for a song.

Q: What’s up next for you?

LT: I’m trying to edit all of the starts of songs that we have because we jam out our ideas. We’re moving pretty fast, and it would be nice to have a full-length album. I’m shooting for 10 songs, but we’ll see.

For the next approach, I want everything to be solid, especially the lyrics, when we record. Creating the songs themselves can be the most enriching part of the whole process. I guess we’ll just see what the year brings.

I like to play shows, too, because it’s a different experience. Our next show is June 4 at UrbanBeat in Lansing. We’re also trying to play out in different Michigan cities because there are music scenes in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

DZ: With any luck, we’ll be recording before the end of the year, for at least some of these songs. We practiced for a flurry of shows, and then we got done. We had six or seven songs started within two weeks, and we’re keeping the pressure cookers on until we’re ready to go.