Lily Allen

Quickie Reviews: Lily Allen

2 March 2009 — Leave a comment

Lily Allen: It’s Not Me, It’s You is a musically intriguing little pop confection with a slightly intellectual core. Sometimes when Ms. Allen gets up too high on her horse the songs fall flat, but for the most part she leaves sociological observations left to those who can actually do it and just observes her world to very best of her ability, which in most cases is excellent. Recommended songs: “The Fear,” “Not Fair,” “22,” “Never Going to Happen,” “Fuck You.”

I was going to talk about Different Class and This Is Hardcore by Pulp but I’ll have to get back to you on those two. Excellent albums though, really glad I gave them a listen.

Christian’s February Reviews I

10 February 2009 — Leave a comment

Hello again, comrades. I decided to review Lily Allen’s new album instead of Vulture Whale (not to steal your thunder, imnore), but I’ll review the boys from Birmingham next week. Here are my reviews for this week.

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears E.P.

Blues rock from Austin, Texas. Organ, hot brass, guitars. Unintelligible, blues-style male vocalist. Four tracks: a blues/funk song, a slow hot song, an improvised ramble set to music, and a bo diddley beat. There’s nothing that original on this record, and I think it’s only really supposed to promote their live blues band business. Faithful, technically decent, but I’m sure you can find better blues records without even trying. I welcome anyone else who knows anything about blues to add their opinion. (2.5/5)

The Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears E.P. was released on January 27th. Here is their Myspace page.

Lily Allen, It’s Not Me, It’s You

Witty, well-produced pop that makes you think. Synth-heavy. Allen’s vocals are unprocessed, for the most part.  There are a lot of different musical styles to keep the record interesting. The lyrics have realistic, relatable takes on romance, but also some clever social commentary (as I wrote earlier). Highlights include “Not Fair”, a rockabilly (wtf) style track about a sweet guy who’s a cad in bed, and “Who’d Have Known” a touching (I am embarrassed to admit) song about the awkward start to a relationship. This record is fun, easy to listen to, and intelligent. Lily Allen seems to be a force for good in the normally vapid, shallow world of pop music. (4/5)

It’s Not Me, It’s You will be released on February 10th, but you can listen to the whole album on her Myspace page.

Monumental Sonic Architecture, Monumental Sonic Architecture E.P.

Pensive, soundtrack-style electronic rock. Sequenced synths and a crunchy guitar over drum loops. Slightly tone deaf male vocalist. Thin, demo-quality tracks in need of a producer. Weak lyrics. (“Bullshit’s piling up so high / Up so high with me / Bullshit’s piling up so high /Up ’til I can’t  see.” Repeat.) Monumental Sonic Architecture knows a few cool tricks, but overall, their music needs too much work to be worth your time. (2/5)

Monumental Sonic Architecture E.P. was released digitally on December 16th. Here’s their Myspace page.

That’s all for now. Hope you’re doing well.

Reviews from January

2 February 2009 — Leave a comment

Hello, friends. In this post, I review the latest singles from Morrissey and Blue October, some tracks from Lily Allen’s forthcoming album, and Maroon 5’s remix album from last year. I also had a review of White Lies’ single “Death” lying around, so I’ll post that, too.

Blue October, “Dirt Room”

Angry alternative rock. Good guitar and bass. Scratchy, screamy male vocalist with rapid delivery. Random violin. Lyrics about a violent revenge for an unknown transgression. Listenable and lots of energy, but some poor choices (backing vocals, whispers) and sort of senseless, generic lyrics. (2.5/5)

“Dirt Room” was released on December 23rd. The album Approaching Normal will be released on March 24th.

Lily Allen, It’s Not Me It’s You [Sampler]

Pop. Heavily produced. Mostly synth. Danceable. Clear female vocals with a London accent; Plainly sung. Sarcastic pop songs with something to say. Lyrics critical of anti-depressant culture, consumerism, superficiality, and religious intolerance. Maybe the production’s a bit too slick, but it has some soul. Intelligent pop with a sense of humor. Pretty good. (3.5/5)

This sampler included the tracks “Everyone’s at It”, “Fuck You”, and “The Fear”. “The Fear” was released as a single on December 9th. It’s Not Me, It’s You will be released on February 10th.

Maroon 5, Call and Response

Pop/Dance/R&B. Bumper collection of remixed tracks. Fairly standard-sounding dance music. Some tracks have an R&B edge, others lean towards techno. Uninteresting unless you like the band, the remix artist or general dance music. Not terrible. (2.5/5)

Call and Response was released on December 9th.

Morrissey, “I’m Throwing My Arms around Paris”

Wistful (adult?)-alternative pop. Guitars. String section during the chorus. Morrissey’s clear, bold croon. A short, simple song with a sweeping chorus about facing rejection with pride. The singer resolves to love cities instead, because “only stone and steel accept my love”. Probably written in an hour. Almost too simple, but damn it, it works. (3.5/5) [Used to be 3/5, but it’s really a better song than that.]

“I’m Throwing My Arms around Paris” will be released on February 9th. The album Years of Refusal will be released on February 16th.

White Lies, “Death”

Positive-sounding, upbeat indie rock. Steady bass-driven rhythm; backing synth strings; bold male vocalist with a thoughtful delivery. Imagine if The Killers’ Brandon Flowers were gentler and sang better. The song deals with the existential dread the singer feels even during times of great happiness and contentment. This is done in a very mature way, and is not bleak or gloomy. Musically unimpressive but lyrically profound. (3/5)

“Death” was released on September 22nd. The album To Lose My Life was released January 19th.

That’s all for now. Next week, I review material from Monumental Sonic Architecture, Alabama indie rockers Vulture Whale, and Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears (who appear to have turned blaxploitation into a musical genre). Hope you’re doing well.