First things first, let me make this clear: I am a Rilo Kiley fan. Jenny Lewis possesses one of the most beautiful voices around and is blessed with an increasingly rare knack for blending offbeat pop sensibilities with lyrical substance, wit and depth. I have spent many pleasurable hours listening to the band's previous three efforts and was eagerly anticipating Under The Blacklight.
Any Rilo Kiley fan will acknowledge that the band have always been on a trajectory away from the quirky periphery and towards the bright lights of mainstream success; Jenny Lewis was always too photogenic and vocally talented to remain in the indie wilderness indefinitely. However, it's clear from the outset that they have implemented some unexpectedly major thematic and musical changes for this album. Opening track Silver Lining features stadium-sized gospel backing vocals and what I suspect may be one of those Cher-style vocoders on the chorus hooks. Jenny's voice is still as powerful as ever, but on first listen I found myself not really concentrating on what she was singing as she seemed to be constantly battling for space within the slick, big league production. Previous effort More Adventurous saw Rilo Kiley make the transition from quirky lo-fi to a more mature, polished sound, but on that record it felt like the production was sympathetic and served to enhance the band's innate sensibilities. Here, it feels like an awkward imposition – the fat, electronic beats that underpin several tracks too often out-muscle the otherwise strong melodies and much of the intimacy and warmth that characterised previous Rilo Kiley albums is absent. There are no sparse, sympathetic acoustic arrangements here, and thus no room for Lewis' heartbreaking, fragile side to blossom. Instead she's in power mode throughout, which is a shame; a change of pace might have saved this album from becoming a bit samey, which it does by the end. Breaking Up would work better as a stripped-down acoustic track; as it is, the Bee Gees-esque discotastic beats of the chorus and sundry retro bleeps and bloops serve only to distract you from the song. Give A Little Love could've been touching but for its overweening 80s sheen. In general it feels like the music on this album has become defined by the production, rather than vice versa; to me, always a tell tale sign of overproduction.
Lewis still flirts with controversy in her lyrics, with much of the album themed around seedy sexual encounters, but she seems to have sacrificed depth for pure shock value. The album sets its stall out early on; second and third tracks Close Call and Moneymaker are sexually charged numbers that deal with prostitution and the commodification of the female body respectively, whilst 15 tackles underage sexual relationships and physical abuse. Lewis has always written provocatively, but this time she doesn't seem to have much in the way of a point to make. The thoughtful existentialism and playfulness of previous Rilo Kiley records is gone, replaced with a sheen that quickly dissipates to leave this reviewer feeling cold and unfulfilled. Moneymaker in particular leaves a bad taste in the mouth, whilst Dejalo sounds like a mediocre Shakira song.
I can see what they were trying to do here. On paper you'd think that combining modern, glossy funked-up pop with seedy, sexual lyrics and then selling it to the masses should be deliciously subversive and clever. The irony is that most pop music already does exactly that, with varying degrees of subtlety – Madonna being the most prominent example. Like A Virgin, anyone? Lady Gaga is just one that springs to mind of an ever-growing gaggle of contemporary pedallers of highly sexualised chart pop, and much of the material on Under The Blacklight could at a pinch be sung by her without even much tweaking of the production. The bottom line is that singing about sex to an accompaniment of bombastic, pumped-up pop tunes just isn't remotely shocking any more.
I kept an open mind and gave this album a chance. I certainly don't begrudge success to anyone in the music business and I've always known Rilo Kiley were destined for big things; I just wish they didn't have to sacrifice a good deal of what made them unique and special to get there. One of the small mercies is that they wisely didn't let Blake Sennett take a turn on lead vocals on this album; his voice has always been a weak link and his vocal contributions on previous Rilo Kiley records have seemed pathetic when juxtaposed with Lewis' syrupy, sassy tones.
Jenny Lewis' voice is still heavenly and as far as disposable pop goes, Under The Blacklight is fairly well executed. However, I have (perhaps unfairly) decided to judge it not on what is is, but what it could've been; with different production and a bit more thought, it could have been something special. Lewis' second most recent release was 2006's solo debut with the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat, which is a warm album full of superb melodies that totally outclasses this album in every department. Instead it just feels a bit empty, as with so much modern pop.
