CD Review: 'Under the Blacklight' by Rilo Kiley

It’s a bid for the big time, but Rilo Kiley seems confused on its latest about the difference between sincere and slick.

Although “Under the Blacklight” is almost entirely about sex, it’s never sexy. That’s by design as singer Jenny Lewis explores the seamier side of Los Angeles from the perspective of different dysfunctional characters: a porn actress on “The Moneymaker,” a hooker on “Close Call” and an underage Internet vixen on “15.” The musical style even changes depending on the narrator, which is an intriguing stab at creating distinctive little story songs.

The execution, however, is a disaster.

These over-produced tunes are mostly an ironic patchwork of recycled ’80s sounds, good for little more than playing spot-the-source. That’s the Cars on “The Moneymaker,” for instance, and Gloria Estefan on “Dejalo” (though the pidgin-Spanish accent is all Lewis’).

There are bright spots: A country-tinged heart beats beneath “The Angels Hung Around,” and opener “Silver Lining” recaptures the soulful streak that ran through “More Adventurous,” the band’s excellent 2005 breakthrough.

Lewis started becoming the face of Rilo Kiley on “More Adventurous,” and she’s clearly in control here. Guitarist Blake Sennett, once her co-leader, co-wrote only two songs on “Under the Blacklight,” and sings just one, “Dreamworld.” That’s not necessarily bad — Lewis has tons of charisma — but it’s a shame the shift in focus coincides with an album so superficial that her characters’ hollow-eyed come-ons seem genuine by comparison.

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"Silver Lining" by Rilo Kiley

Comments

[Smartin]

couldn't disagree with you more

in a time when all these stupid indie bands are just recreating their pretentious indie crap, rilo kiley has branched out

as for the album never being sexy, completely disagree, dreamworld is very hypnotically sexy in my my opinion

most all of the songs have too-cool-for-school lyrics that are so refreshing when there are all these bands just trying to hard

this album is fun, and much much more
respect your opinion, but just thought I would put mine out there too, seeing as it's so different

Eric replies: Thanks for weighing in.