Rilo Kiley/ Under The BlacklightFleetwood Mac is one of the best rock bands of the past fifty years. Sure, some may scoff and say that they’re too lightweight to be granted such lofty status, but it’s true. Point to a band whose track record measures up to Fleetwood Mac and you’ll realize what kind of company that they actually keep. It’s for that reason that Rilo Kiley could do much worse than to follow the Mac template as they embark on their major label debut, Under The Blacklight. The parallels are striking. Much like the romantic entanglements within Fleetwood Mac, singer Jenny Lewis and guitarist Blake Sennett are exes who often work out their issues through their music. Both bands’ supposed masterpieces were their second albums (Rumours and The Execution Of All Things, respectively). Their third albums were departures from their previous work (Tusk and More Adventurous) that lead to their charismatic female singers (Stevie Nicks and Lewis) releasing solo albums (Bella Donna and Rabbit Fur Coat) before regrouping. Basically, Rilo Kiley stands where Fleetwood Mac did in 1982, and they’ve for sure delivered a much stronger album than Mirage. Whereas Lindsay Buckingham and Nicks were looking forward to solo careers at the expense of a cohesive collective album, Lewis and Sennett have galvanized the band into a completely new direction that’s both exciting and impressive at the same time. Under The Blacklight finds Rilo Kiley making over their sound from their early alt-country leanings to a more polished indie pop sound – almost like an updated version of the 1970’s California pop sound for the year 2007. It’s obvious that Lewis has sex on the brain as many of the tracks favor a libidinous viewpoint unseen in Rilo Kiley’s previous work. On “Close Call,” a darker track with Cure-esque guitars, Lewis warns, “Funny thing about money for sex/ You might get rich but you’ll die by it,” the down and dirty “The Moneymaker” follows much of the same viewpoint, and “Smoke Detector” finds Lewis stating rather matter-of-factly, “I took a man back to my room/ I was smoking him in bed.” Beyond the sex, the band also experiments with disco for the first time with the four-on-the-floor “Breakin’ Up” that’s as catchy as the clap was back in Studio 54’s heyday as well as on the Caribbean-influenced “Dejalo.” Even “Dreamworld,” Sennett’s lone lead vocal track, is very atmospheric and reminiscent of early ‘80’s pop. Many longtime fans have had a mixed reaction to Under The Blacklight and the reason for this is simple – they’re fucking idiots. Under The Blacklight is one of the most enjoyable records of the year thus far and if Rilo Kiley wants to follow in the footsteps of Fleetwood Mac, well, shit… they could have done much, much worse.
Dirty Rating: 94/100
Rilo Kiley On MySpace Music
Rilo Kiley's Official Site
No comments:
Post a Comment