As this album was my first introduction to Rilo Kiley, I almost immediately dismissed it as yet another album by yet another band who despises Los Angeles. It’s a miracle that city doesn’t have a complex about it yet, considering the rate that ‘indie’ music is growing. After listening to Rilo Kiley’s older works, I’ve only softened a little towards this album because of the versatility of Jenny Lewis’s voice and the intriguing song arrangements. Otherwise, much of it is still pretentious ‘we hate L.A.’ trash.
Lewis’s voice takes on a soft crooning one moment, shifts to a sexier, breathier croon, and then typifies smooth pop. It’s confusing and exhilirating to follow her through this odd journey as the album goes on, but as she’s the great equalizer here it’s easy to follow her wherever she leads. That said, the songs themselves aren’t coherent in any sense of the word, even if their lyrics are very similar (see: pretentious ‘we hate L.A.’ trash). Instead of annoying me further, these drastic differences in arrangements only serve to showcase Rilo Kiley’s talents. But for crying out loud, enough with the bashing of L.A., people!
myspacelast.fm, myspace
“The Angels Hung Around,” “The Moneymaker,” “The Blacklight,” and “Dreamworld.”
