Music Review: Lily Allen, “It’s Not Me, It’s You”
Rating: 92
Lily Allen’s “Alright, Still” delivered a stinging slap to pop music in 2006, just when it needed it: here was a brutally smart young woman possessing remarkable facility with both snarky couplets and sticky melodies, executed with equal parts confidence and endearing self-deprecation. When so many expected a face plant on the second go-around, “It’s Not Me, It’s You” is the work of a maturing artist reinventing her sound and fury and signifying so much more in the process.
Having braved the best and worst of the pop life, the commentary Allen indulged in “LDN” now contains far more detail. The sharp character sketches of “22” and “The Fear” indicate she aspires to the sociological pop songs of Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn and Ray Davies, and when her gaze turns inward, she is much less blithe than before. On “Who’d Have Known” and “Chinese,” two exquisite second-act ballads, Allen sings about the joys of a domesticity she doesn’t actually own, filling the songs with the sadness that out-of-reach fantasy ultimately brings.
Allen mostly ditches the clattering “mockney” pop of “Smile” and “LDN” for ultra-sleek synth environments designed largely by Greg Kurstin (one half of The Bird and the Bee). These riche arrangements offer the perfect setting for Allen’s improved vocals — they soar surprisingly on “Chinese,” a sweet ode to the joys of staying home with a mate and just ordering takeout. “It’s Not Me, It’s You” is what all mainstream pop should be — proudly intelligent and genuinely fun to be around.
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Comments
92? Is that the highest score you’ve given so far? I think a certain staticblog is crushing a little.
As far as the movie is concerned, it probably ‘asn’t ‘appened cuz there’s no way Lilly could ever not drop the H. Bet you a dollar.
No, Rob, methinks TV on the Radio did a little better. No matter — great disc.
As for Chase’s question of who should play Alfred Doolittle in the synth-pop version of “My Fair Lady,” I honestly don’t know. Who the early days of synth pop looks suitably old enough to play the dad?
Well, I’d say Bowie except he’s already been cast as Higgins. It’s not synth-pop at all, but I bet Iggy Pop would do an amusing take.
Now that I think about it, would it be too creepy to have Bowie as Higgins, since he’s like 40 years older than Lily? or does his Bowieocity trump that?
Bowie’s take on Nikola Tesla makes me think he’s the guy. He could do the Rex Harrison type better than Rex Harrison — well, when he was alive.
Lately I’ve been having this fantasy of directing a synth-pop remake of “My Fair Lady” with Lily in the lead and David Bowie as Henry Higgins.