Has any record split opinion this year in quite the same way as 'Under The Blacklight'?
Or had hitherto loyal fans railing against a band as much as Rilo Kiley have?
Such was the critical mauling from some sides, you'd have thought Jenny Lewis and co hand not only sold their souls to the devil but given him shares in their bodies, minds and clothing. But no. Rather than meeting the horned one at the crossroads, Rilo Kiley had merely gone ahead and made an album of accessible, polished pop rock songs that dared to dabble in areas normally left to the mainstream. How very dare they?!?!!!
Sure it was a bit of a shock to anyone expecting the usual alt-country splattered indie. Granted, the studio production was a tad over glossy. And yes, it does contain the abysmal 'Dejalo' which even now, months after release, still seems to be desperately searching for a decent tune. But these are things that can be forgiven and overlooked. For once you get past the shock of the sheen, there are some great songs waiting for you. What's more, they’re songs that sound even better played live, as my review a while back clearly attests. As do the three tracks I'm presenting for you today. Recorded live and acoustic, they’re stripped of the production that seemed to offend so much. It'd be interesting to hear if any of you who hated the album, find these any more palatable.
Rilo Kiley – close call (live acoustic version)
Rilo Kiley – dreamworld (live acoustic version)
Rilo Kiley – the moneymaker (live acoustic version)
mp3 / music / rilo kiley
Friday, November 02, 2007
You get out of it
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6 comments:
I still didn't like 'em. It wasn't the production, it was just the lack of tunes/ soul. It says nothing to me about my life... like pictures of success, or portions for foxes.
oh well, maybe next time.
Personally I found the record very immediate, with some really strong tracks (Smoke Detector, Fifteen)... but it just didn't stay with me very long, compared to their last record.
The acoustic tracks work well, though I doubt even acoustic could save 'Give A Little Love', which was crying out to be an En Vogue song...
I dig these acoustic versions. "Dreamworld" is the best song on the album.
Yeah, I was quite prepared to hate their POP album. But it is such a good pop album that my love of the previous albums need not be compromised by a new direction.
There's nothing like Portions For Fixes on it, and if you overplay the album, some songs will begin to grate. And still, it's one of my albums of 2007.
did anybody else notice how jenny's voice is very overpowering on "dreamworld"? o__O
she's supposed to be doing backup, and yet she's singing louder than blake.
it kind of ruins this acoustic version for me. /:
omg, reupload please!!
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