The first thing you should know about this band is that no, there isn't anyone named
Rilo Kiley in this band. It's kinda like
Franz Ferdinand. The lead singer is actually named Jenny Lewis, and she has one really sexy voice. I guess Rilo Kiley is a rock band, but they are really light on the guitars and are pretty soft sounding.
Rilo Kiley was previously on Saddle Creek Records which aparrently has some kind of cult following. Now they are on a major label, and of course all those cool college kids who liked them before claim Rilo Kiley "sold out" and call new Rilo Kiley fans "posers". Or as I like to spell it "poseurs". More french sounding.
A word on posing. My favorite artist is
Elliott Smith and I would love it if everyone could hear and appreciate his music. I probably wouldn't like it if he got too famous, because there's always people who'd like him just because they think he's good looking or like his shoes or something like that. If you like a band for the music (as you
should be), then you are no poser. Or poseur. I admit I thought there was someone named Rilo Kiley in the band.
Okay, so onto the music.
Portions For Foxes is easily the most radio-friendly of these tracks. Both the music and the words are insanely catchy.
There's blood in my mouth cause I've been biting my tongue all week...
That's how I was introduced to Jenny Lewis's sexy voice. It's a great voice, but she seems to sing with so much sass, energy, and so a little bit of that "bad girl" aura makes her one magnetic frontman. Er..frontwoman. Whatever. The song is basically about liking people, getting hurt, and musing that one day we'll all be "portions for foxes". I hate how the guitar sounds for the last verse, it's so corny sounding...it reminds me of a rainbow. I love the part when Lewis pants though. And I love the words. Great song.
Baby, you're bad news
And you're bad news
I don't care, I like you
And you're bad news
I don't care, I like you
I like you...
Another good rocking time can be found in
Love And War (11/11/46). Lewis's voice sounds great as always, with some really nice harmonies, but the synth only makes the song sound cornier. I even like the
Killers' really synth-heavy songs, but it just doesn't seem to work with Rilo Kiley. The best part of this song is the really distinct sounding guitar leads.
I Never sounds like it could be a Norah Jones song. The song is so good and catchy, I was convinced it's a single but my friend says it's not. In this track, you really get to hear how versatile Jenny Lewis's voice is, and her voice can really soar. That sounded really corny, but rest assured, that woman can sing. A nice pop song with some incredible melodies.
Cause I-I-I-I-I-I
Never never never never
Never never never never...
Loved somebody
The way I loved you
Shades of Norah Jones.
My favourite is probably
Does He Love You? It starts out as a simple tune, with just the guitar and vocals.
Does he love you?
Does he love you?
Will he hold his tiny face in your hands?
Drums and bass come in, so now it's a standard pop/rock fare? Keyboards start pulsing in a bit. Then Lewis starts beltin'. Then the strings come in. This is probably the most emotional, and most lush sounding song on the album.
I am flawed if I'm not free.
Okay, now you hear my problems with this album. First, many guitar parts are run through a lot of effects and sound really lame. The main problem I have is that the band really seems pretentious to me.
Hey, we're Rilo Kiley! We don't have to write lyrics that go well together! Let's name our songs all really mysterious sounding! A Man/Me/Then Jim is a good one! I bet our CD will be awesome. Hey let's name a song It's A Hit! Rilo Kiley rules! Rilo Kiley rules! Rilo Kiley rules!
At times their lyrics are just horrendous. Their song
It's A Hit is a prime example.
Any a*shole can open up a museum
Put all of the things he loves on display
So everyone could see them
Just the way she sings that first line...she sings the first word slowly and just squeezes in "museum" really fast to fit in that line. I know Jenny Lewis isn't a rapper, but her flow at times is horrible. This whole verse sounds all out of place...
Any chimp can play human for a day
Use his opposable thumbs to iron his uniform
And run for office on election day
Fancy himself a real decision maker
And deploy more troops than salt in a shaker.
zzzzZZZzz...Oh, is she done reciting her research paper yet? Sorry, where was I?
I also hate politics in most songs because hardly any artists go in depth. What do I get from this verse? That she hates Bush. Ok, so what? Bush is like a monkey? How original. I hate saying this but he won fair and square (this time), so why keep bashing him? You're going to get him impeached because he's funny looking? (I voted for Kerry by the way.) I like political songs only if they bring up an original angle of looking at something or if they call for serious action. Like "I Shall Overcome"...
And I hate to nitpick with
I Never, but it saddens me...even if you say "Never" a hundred times like she does, it still means the same thing if you say "never" just once.
The cryptic song titles. The zealous production. They obviously wanted this to be a hit. And I confess I love the music of this album.
Ripchord is a nice simple track, and I like the whistling.
The Absence of God is a beautiful soft rock number,
It Just Is is a nice song (with corny guitar parts!). It just is.
The band just feels...castrated. They've lost all their distinctiveness. Perhaps to appeal to a greater audience? I don't know. I'm not going to label anyone a sell-out or a poser. Every band needs some edge. All I know is that vocals are great, lyrics stumble, guitars sound lame, and the music is great. I can say this: this is one interesting CD.
xo,
underdawg
Track Listing
1. It's A Hit-3 Stars
2. Does He Love You?-5 Stars
3. Portions For Foxes-5 Stars
4. Ripchord-5 Stars
5. I Never-5 Stars
6. The Absence Of God-5 Stars
7. Accidental Deth-4 Stars
8. More Adventurous-4 Stars
9. Love And War (11/11/46)-5 Stars
10. A Man/Me/Then Jim-4 Stars
11. It Just Is-5 Stars
***
Junk that CD player and
get an iPod!
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