Spring Break
Allen settles down, opens up with 'It's Not Me'
by Brad Stern
Staff Writer
Arts | 2/24/09
Posted online at 5:42 PM EST on 3/1/09
After nearly four years, Lily Allen has finally begun to make headlines for all the right reasons again. Feb. 10 saw the release of the original MySpace starlet's sophomore attempt, It's Not Me, It's You, which features the thoughts and fears of a 22-year-old poised at the precipice of adulthood. As a wise woman once said years ago: not a girl, not yet a woman.
Accordingly, the new record is rife with turmoil stemming from all avenues of discontent, political, personal and all the glorious goods in between. This time around, however, the bratty persona from years past has been replaced by a more dedicated musician, a personality often embodied by Allen herself in recent interviews.
With "Everyone's At It" and "The Fear," the album's lead-off tracks, Allen sets the bar high from the beginning. Together, the two brooding electro-pop social critiques bounce off each other in a deliciously dark manner and create an atmosphere that is carried forth for the remainder of the album.
"Back To The Start" is a particular highlight of the album. Hovering atop a brittle, breaking chorus, Allen teeters across a slippery string of apologies: "Believe me when I say that I cannot apologize enough ... And if it's not too late/Can you please find it deep within your heart/To try and go back/Go back to the start?" As soon as the echoing choral bridges between the choruses chime in, it's already over. The track is a certified stormer.
"Who'd Have Known" is an especially tender, if not surprising moment as we find Allen at the brink of something beautiful: "Even though it's moving forward, there's just the right amount of awkward/Today you accidentally called me baby," she coos with a wisp of girlish excitement.
"Chinese" appropriately follows, as Allen opens up once more: "Tomorrow we'll take the dog for the walk in the afternoon, and maybe we'll talk. I'll be exhausted, so I'll probably sleep. Then we'll get Chinese and watch TV." Frank, yet charming nonetheless.
Accordingly, the new record is rife with turmoil stemming from all avenues of discontent, political, personal and all the glorious goods in between. This time around, however, the bratty persona from years past has been replaced by a more dedicated musician, a personality often embodied by Allen herself in recent interviews.
With "Everyone's At It" and "The Fear," the album's lead-off tracks, Allen sets the bar high from the beginning. Together, the two brooding electro-pop social critiques bounce off each other in a deliciously dark manner and create an atmosphere that is carried forth for the remainder of the album.
"Back To The Start" is a particular highlight of the album. Hovering atop a brittle, breaking chorus, Allen teeters across a slippery string of apologies: "Believe me when I say that I cannot apologize enough ... And if it's not too late/Can you please find it deep within your heart/To try and go back/Go back to the start?" As soon as the echoing choral bridges between the choruses chime in, it's already over. The track is a certified stormer.
"Who'd Have Known" is an especially tender, if not surprising moment as we find Allen at the brink of something beautiful: "Even though it's moving forward, there's just the right amount of awkward/Today you accidentally called me baby," she coos with a wisp of girlish excitement.
"Chinese" appropriately follows, as Allen opens up once more: "Tomorrow we'll take the dog for the walk in the afternoon, and maybe we'll talk. I'll be exhausted, so I'll probably sleep. Then we'll get Chinese and watch TV." Frank, yet charming nonetheless.
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