The New Rilo Kiley - Love It or Hate It?

By: admin | in: Music |

Under The Blacklight: Baby, It’s Bad News

Now that Rilo Kiley have re-acquainted themselves and recorded a practice session, they can now begin work on an album worthy of mention.

Honestly, if ‘Under The Blacklight’ wasn’t Rilo Kiley, I doubt I would’ve given it as many listens as I did. I cannot believe that this is what they chose to put out after a 3 year break. If mainstream mediocrity was RK’s goal, then I say they’ve more than achieved it.

The chorus to most of the songs is merely a simple phrase repeated over and over: “It’s gonna be a close call”, “ow ow ow, oh yeah”, “give a little love to get a little love”. However, RK was certainly more adventurous with its instrumentation. A little funk guitar here, a couple of synth intros there; heck, there was even an inexplicable 4-bar theremin solo. Sadly, most changes only served to further the pop sheen the band was seeking.

And the track that wins the Cringe-Inducer Award is ‘Dejalo’ (Spanish for “Uninspired Filler”, apparently); which sounds as if The Miami Sound Machine possessed the entire band. Abysmal. On a side note, I just know there’s a Conga vs Dejalo mashup just begging to made.

Don’t get me wrong — the album doesn’t outright suck, but I expected better from this band. As for the high points: All I can recommend is the soothing & mellow ‘Silver Lining’; the Fleetwood Mac influenced ‘Dreamworld’ with Blake Sennett on vocals; and folk-rockin’ ‘The Angels Hung Around’. The others are harmless, catchy, and ready for TV commercial and movie soundtrack insertion.

The Verdict: Repetitious lyrics, unmemorable songs, and a mishmash of musical styles makes for a directionless, yet easy listening, effort. Skip the CD and download my recommendations from your music service of choice.

Rilo Kiley - Dejalo

Having Fun with Rilo Kiley

By: Charbarred

It took me a long time to warm to Rilo Kiley’s previous alum “More Adventurous”. When I finally did, it was well worth it. I guess the problem with Rilo Kiley is that they insist on dishing out a completely different course every time around. I was ready to start comparing Under The Blacklight to its predecessors when it hit me – This is a pop album.

Under The Blacklight is Rilo Kiley having fun. They are signed to a major label and they’re playing with the big boys now. If you put Under The Blacklight on the same pedestal as their previous offerings, you’re missing out on all the fun.

Yes, it completely lacks direction. For a moment it seems that the many stories about unfortunate women are there to form a certain concept, but songs like Silver Lining completely shatter that theory. Dejalo is as cringe worthy and previously described and the album jumps from genre to genre like it’s trying to compete for some diversity award.

On the other hand, once you put the songs next to the current pop offering you get a completely different story. You get the perfect 90’s Joan Osborne meets the Corrs hits with Close Call and Under the Blacklight. Breaking up, a combination of the Jackson Five and S Club Seven is as cheesy as it gets, but it’s completely tongue in cheek. Jenny Lewis can sing with the best of them. Her vocal abilities on “15” are astounding, and she basically carries the whole album. The subject matters serve to balance out the pop in many songs. Everybody’s clapping and cheering and Lewis tells sad tales of prostitutes, strippers and ill-fated protagonists.

I guess I wouldn’t be listening to this either if it weren’t Rilo Kiley, but since it is, I’m willing to discover it for what it’s worth.
Bottom line: Miles away from anything on the pop charts yet miles away from the Execution of all Things.

Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining

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Posted on August 26, 2007

Comments

9 Responses to “The New Rilo Kiley - Love It or Hate It?”

Ryan of the RSL Music Blog on August 26th, 2007 11:43 am

Under the Blacklights album is as much of an extension of the Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins side project as it is the next Rilo Kiley.

Jenny Lewis is much more pronounced here. There is creative conflict between her and Blake Senney it sounds like (pick up the latest Filter magazine!!)

The sound is one of a fork in the road - of forced progression… of Growth. So while I am not the world’s biggest fan to begin with, but I am going to have to give this one a thumbs up.

okcutie on August 26th, 2007 1:45 pm

Like it, different and I like to learn music of all kinds, my mind is opened to anything. t y

A QUICK BASHING « Berkeley Place on August 26th, 2007 5:08 pm

[…] A QUICK BASHING At last! Someone else didn’t like the new Rilo Kiley album! I didn’t hate it, but I really don’t get all the showering of praise. It can’t be just because Jenny Lewis is cute. The songs are all fine, but every single one makes me think of another song by another artist. There are certainly some fun songs to listen to on it, particularly “Silver Lining,” but overall there’s just not a lot of Rilo Kiley in it. In other words, I find it derivative. […]

Tibi Puiu on August 27th, 2007 4:49 am

Terrible album, the major label signing really messed up with their sound, and somehow proved that they’ve sold out, by creating this pop shit album. The old stuff was a lot better; i realize that they’ve tried to do something different and more
‘adventurous’, but really if they wanna be a 2 listens band, that’s nr 1 on the radio today and #110 tomorrow , then,as mozzer put it, they’ve reached their goal.

bad_panda on August 27th, 2007 9:52 am

I’ve gotta agree w/ Mozzer and Berkley. I really was looking forward to this album, but when I heard it I felt almost betrayed. While I understand they were trying to make that next step as a band, this album feels like progression for progression’s sake; contrived. I even tried to like it. I listened to it a few times thinking it couldn’t have been that bad, but unfortunately it was. Perhaps Saddle Creek was a better fit for Rilo Kiley…

mozzer on August 27th, 2007 12:34 pm

Kudos to Char for looking beyond its RK’s shortcomings and finding the silver lining in this release. I’ve given it a few more tries, the disappointment has subsided, but my opinion is unchanged.

Berkley summed it up better than I: It’s derivative.

DThompson on August 27th, 2007 12:41 pm

If ‘Silver Lining’ is clearly a riff down to the specific guitar tone of George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’. And, if ‘My Sweet Lord’ was judged in court to be a rip-off (though unintentionally so) of the Chiffon’s ‘He’s So Fine’, does this mean the Chiffons have a case against Rilo Kiley?
AND, if the “best” song on the album is a rip-off of a rip-off does that make this hyper homage or just utter creative collapse?

bad_panda on August 27th, 2007 1:05 pm

DThompson’s comment reminds of when John Fogerty was sued by Fantasy records for sounding too much like Credence Clearwater on his solo album. If only RK had that same problem.

Allison on April 30th, 2008 1:28 am

It’s a great album. It’s different, but I think they know what they’re doing. Yeah, most of the songs are simpler… but in a sense, it’s harder to make a simple song sound good, because you don’t have much to work with. And as for the choruses being repetitive… well, welcome to pop songs. I don’t think Rilo Kiley should have to make everything as lyrically complex as “Does He Love You” . . . if it was, my head would explode.