I’ll admit it right now, I’m not a huge Lily Allen fan. In last year’s Lily vs. Amy war, I was rooting for Amy every second. Superior voice, superior writing, superior tunes. But since Amy’s too busy getting hospitalized in St. Lucia to put out a new album, Lily’ll have to do for now. Disclaimer: I did my best to go in to this review with an open mind.
Lily decides in this record to tackle big girl issues rather than flaky boys in clubs, with mixed results. Album opener “Everyone’s At It” seems to present the thesis that the whole world is on drugs. Now, I’m neither a doctor nor a statistician, but as a member of the educated public, I have a bit of a problem with this assertion. I know lots of people that are not on drugs. Hell, I’m not on drugs, but I might consider them if this album gets much worse. I understand that she’s exaggerating, but this song would have worked a lot better if there was a sense of humor about it all rather than faux sincerity. Plus the techno beats on this song piss me off.
“He Wasn’t There” is a cheesy “I have Daddy issues” track with an equally tacky beat (why why why WHY did she not re-hire Mark Ronson?); “I Could Say” sounds like it was written in about 1998, and I counted eight different and equally painful clichés, ranging from “the whole wide world is my stage” to “I’ve been let out of my cage."
Lead single “The Fear” sounds, thankfully, like the old Lily – I love the dance beat and the opening lines: “I want to be rich and I want lots of money/…/I want loads of clothes and ****loads of diamonds.” But the whole thing takes a turn for the worse when, first of all, she feels the need to explain the joke, that’s she not actually one of those celebrities…do you get it? Do you get it? Huh? YES. We get it. I’d almost like her better if she didn’t deny being a, as she puts it, “weapon of massive consumption,” because this new-found conscience is kind of a drag. The lyrics for the rest of the song similarly walk the line between clever and tacky, but as soon as she feels the need to start explaining the jokes and taking herself seriously, all the fun is gone and you’re left feeling annoyed. Not good. Plus, "Who'd Have Known" has similar chord progressions to "The Fear," which is just lazy.
The unnecessarily profane “F*** You” is another one of those just annoying songs wherein Lily Allen pretends to know what the hell is going on in the world. Really? A song about George Bush? Is that, well, irrelevant? Guess what, Lily, your dream came true…LAST NOVEMBER. No one cares. Plus, you’re British. You live in England. I’ll admit that my personal politics tend towards the left, but it really, really pisses me off when non-Americans feel they have the right to criticize our president. We know he is (was) bad, we don’t really need your opinion. So shut up already.
The point is, the reason her last album was so much fun was because it was about things that people could actually relate to, like crappy boyfriends and being hit on in clubs, and it kept up a certain even tone of exasperated good humor. “Smile” was one of the best breakup songs in years, and it still makes me happy every time I listen to it. There’s another thing – the songs off her last album were memorable, especially gems like “LDN,” “Friday Night,” and “Knock ‘Em Out.” Truth be told, I’ve listened to nothing but this album for the past three days and I still can’t tell any of the songs apart. Maybe it’s because the production is seriously lacking – I was extremely surprised that she didn’t go with Mark Ronson for a second time, considering that he was a major reason her first album was such a success. This time around, Greg Kurstin’s production pushes her more towards a dance direction (understandable, really, it seems that’s where every pop artist is going these days), which doesn’t really do much for her pretty average voice. Combine this with her newfound determination to tackle big world issues, well, it’s just a little too much coming from, as Perez Hilton puts it, a celebutard. Leave the philosophizing to bigger and better bands, Lily. You’re just no fun anymore.
The Bottom Line: A disappointing second album from an artist who seems unsure who she is anymore (is she the new Amy Winehouse? The new Kate Nash? The New Lady GaGa? Or the new Paris Hilton?).
Download: Alright, Still (her first and the superior album). If you’re already a fan, get her version of the Kaiser Chiefs’ “Oh My God,” off Mark Ronson’s Version, a fantastic track. Already have that? You’re on your own.
Rating: 5/10
mood: productive!
tunes: T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. – the hives – the black & white album
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