Pop Goes the Rilo

I have been putting off writing my review of Under The Blacklight, partially because I've been going through an existential crisis, partially because I am hesitant to say less than glowing things about my favorite band.

I'll start by saying that I like it. This is the album that should have been titled More Adventurous. Adventurous of the band to say 'fuck it' to expectations, to the term indie, to their fans, and possibly to themselves. It shows that they certainly haven't lost their sense of humor. It's fun and catchy as hell, almost to the detriment of your sanity at times. Lyrically speaking, however, it's pretty shoddy. All but one of the songs were written by Jenny and from what I've gathered from various articles, she wrote them during her Rabbit Fur Coat tour. There were something like 25 songs recorded for UTB, which means that they have enough songs to put out an entire b-side album (fingers crossed!) or it could just mean that a majority of the current songs were so shitty they couldn't even make the cut for the album.

I'd rather not think that they've lost their way. I know they can do better. I know the girl who wrote "but the lows are so extreme that the good seems fucking cheap" is in there somewhere. My theory is two-fold as to what happened. Touring for a year and half for MA and a year and a half for RFC gave way to pure exhaustion. My other theory is simply that they're happy. The best part of both Jenny and Blake's songwriting is the turmoil of losing love or of finding it. And happiness does not create the best art, but that could be up for debate.

Bottom line, it's not their best effort. It's repetitive and too character-driven (RK work best when they're confessing their own sins), and then there's that whole "are they trying to sound mainstream?" thing. There are more than a few cringe-worthy moments when stylistically I feel like I'm listening to Shania. I'll forgive them this one. If it happens again, though, I just don't know if I can remain dedicated.