Album Reviews

“Any chimp can play human for a day/and use his opposable thumbs to iron his uniform/and run for office on election day/and fancy himself a real decision maker/then deploy more troops than salt in a shaker,” Jenny Lewis sings with a droll lilt on “It's a Hit,” this album's catchy opener. Hmm. I wonder who she's singing about?

Rilo Kiley is a poppy, tuneful, guitar driven alt-rock/pop/country/you-name-it outfit fronted by Ms. Lewis, a former child actor, who, no surprise, sounds ultra-confident here, but not too slick. Lewis has a full child actor's resume including starring in Lucille Ball's final hurrah, 1986's embarrassing “Life With Lucy.”

The band also includes another ex-child actor, Blake Sennett, who used to be in a Nickelodeon show called “Salute Your Shorts.” Don't ask me. I've never seen it, though I have saluted in my shorts, if you know what I mean.

Though this album is on Barsuk vinyl, the label that issued the group's debut, the CD was supposed to be issued by Omaha's Saddle Creek Records, home of Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst), but instead the group formed it's own label, Brute/Beaute, distributed by Warner Brothers.

What's most fascinating about this concoction of pop/rock/hipness is the absolute squareness of its vibe. The tunes have traditional melodic inventions and conventional hooks, and Lewis's voice veers towards plasticized middle class pop clarity, but somehow, almost instinctively the songs and the arrangements hiccup humorously in ways that magically restore the hipness.

It's difficult to explain, but what's clear is that the group has found a subtle recipe for an intriguingly original, yet somehow familiar musical brew. It would be easy to dismiss Rilo Kiley as pop-dross but that would be seriously misunderestimating what's going on here. Yes, they sometimes sound more like mid-eighties KROQ “New Wave,” but then just as quickly they don't.

The arrangements are knowing and smart. These folks are playing with a very colorful musical palette and they know how to use it. Plus they have a fantastically subtle sense of humor that rides just below the surface and doesn't quit.

The band is on a tear right now, having just been signed to open for Coldplay on the upcoming tour. Lewis has toured with Postal Service, the Death Cab For Cutie offshoot, and that band has reached major label status and is starting to take off. So, something is happening here as disparate musical threads intertwine.

So what I'm saying is, this Rilo Kiley album has something interesting going for it that doesn't explain itself when you first hear it. It's an up and coming phenomenon worth checking out.

Sonically, it's a cleanly rendered, shiny bright pop recording, possessing excellent focus and clarity but little in the way of context. Everything's up front and dimensionally flat. Leading edges of transients predominate and they're right in your face, but not hard and harsh. This is 2005 so don't expect recording studio subtlety, though the arrangements could stand up to such treatment. Too bad.

Watch out for Jenny Lewis and crew. They're going to be big.