Lily Allen “It’s Not Me, It’s You” Review
Lily Allen is a good example of an artist who succeeds through non-traditional strengths. Rather than relying on a huge, American Idol-style voice, celebrity producers (even Mark Ronson is absent from her new album) or the mimicry of a more popular act, Allen uses her uniquely soft, barely-there voice and strong personality to write pop songs that are catchy, memorable and occasionally profound.
Like many sophomore albums, It’s Not Me, It’s You lacks the monster singles (”Smile” and “LDN”) that defined its predecessor, but is a bit more solid overall. In particular, the album starts off very strong, with “Everyone’s At It” and the lead single “The Fear.” The former’s anti-drug message is a bold choice for the lead-off song on a pop album, and the latter’s exploration of fame and celebrity continues the trend of Allen choosing to write about topics other than love and heartbreak, something a whole lot of other pop acts could learn from.
Love and heartbreak do make appearances on the album, but they’re balanced with songs about Allen’s father (“He Wasn’t There”), corrupt politicians (“Fuck You,” which should have retained its hilarious demo title “Guess Who Batman”) and God (“He”). Allen’s songwriting isn’t perfect; there are still some forced rhymes, some cliché moments and some somewhat sappy melodrama, but the fact that she’s at least trying to write outside the box is enormously refreshing.
Musically, she’s traded the bubblegum dub of Alright, Still for a more electro-pop sound, and the trade-off is pretty even. The album is fun, bouncy and bright, which really highlights Allen’s dripping-with-ennui voice; with a more traditional singer, the result might be too sweet.
New listeners might want to go back to Alright, Still and it’s two big, fun singles, but for fans of Lily Allen, It’s Not Me, It’s You is a solid follow-up. Pure pop is a genre full of formulas and play-it-safe strategies; Lily Allen breaks the mold and the result is a rewarding listen.
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Though a completely different type of album, this is my favorite pop record since Britney’s Circus.
I absolutely love how the songs bounce around, in terms of sound, without losing a sense of cohesion.
“Not Fair” and “Back To The Start” are two of my favorites on the album.
If you liked the first album, you’ll love this one, too. Fantastic.
This a little gem of a record, I think Allen is great lyric writer say can really nail things from celebrity culture to the day to day life of a girl in her early 20’s. Christ have you heard the new Morrissey Record – he needs to be listening to Lily Allen if he wants some pointers about how to write a modern, clever, witty pop record.
Awesome album. I like all of the songs on this album especially “Never Gonna Happy”. Lily is a good artist, i like her innocence
Sorry i mean “Never Gonna Happen”
Gr8 album!! Lily is a inspirational artist and breaks free of the status quo with her bold lyrics…U rock girl!