Lily’s been away for a while and after the raft of clones that sprung up as soon as she charmed the charts two and a half years ago, she needs to show us she’s still original and still the best. Her worldview and attitude have clearly changed – where Alright, Still had romanticised ditties about pedalling around in the sunshine, we’re treated to a rant about crack-takers and a song about an inadequate lover (‘Not Fair’) which even contains the lyric “Maybe I’m just overreacting / maybe you’re the one for me”. Along with the lyrics, the music has also lost some bite. She’s moved on from cod-reggae, but many of the later songs in the album blend into one; the sanitised likes of ‘Chinese’ aren’t helped by the limits of Lily’s vocals – they are too well suited to songs about being comfortable and ordering takeaways and it doesn’t take long for the sickly-sweetness to grate. The album is almost saved by a few killer songs such as ‘Back To The Start’ – Lily just about keeping up with the breathless dirty pop backing - but it’s not really enough.
Rowan Brunswick
Photo source: Lily Allen, 'It's Not Me, It's You' official album artwork
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment