The xx‘s Romy Madley-Croft has spoken about the process of embracing sexuality on her forthcoming debut solo album.

• Read more: Romy shows her true colours with new solo song ‘Lifetime’, a masterclass in pandemic pop

The singer, who released her debut solo single ‘Lifetime’ back in September, told The Guardian: “I came out when I was 15, and my dad was really cool about it, and I’m very grateful for that.

“But I didn’t feel ready when we put out that first xx album, when we were about 20, to be really, really open about my sexuality.”

She added: “Over time, growing up and also just noticing how the world is changing, I felt a lot more comfortable being more public.”

Romy went on to say that she feels she can now “write about loving a woman and not feel afraid or embarrassed,” adding: “maybe it’s a growing up thing, and just not caring as much what people think.”

She also spoke of the lack of lesbian dance and pop songs, saying: “When I was a teenager, and I was looking for explicitly lesbian love songs that I could connect to, I definitely wasn’t finding any pop-dance music. It was more like, lesbian acoustic music.

“That’s the stereotype, I think. What does a lesbian love song sound like? Someone with an acoustic guitar!”

In a four-star review of ‘Lifetime’, NME‘s El Hunt said: “On the evidence of this new single, you could speculate that Romy was another major driving force behind The xx’s directional shift to dancier material. Before joining the band, she was a 17-year-old DJ spinning tunes in a Soho gay bar.

“Everything about ‘Lifetime’ makes perfect sense (despite the mildly frustrating timing). Back in April Romy promised on Instagram that her new solo project would be upbeat and “fun” – and it turns out that was something of an understatement.”

The singer also confirmed that The xx will be returning with new music, after all three members embarked on solo projects. “There’s more xx music to come for sure,” she said.