On first listen, Rilo Kiley’s major label debut, Under the Blacklight, sounds like the unfortunate mixture of a band on the verge of mainstream success and too much studio time.
The second time through, only two or three songs reveal themselves as the high-quality pop music fans expect.
There won’t be a third listen.
Gone are the playful indie-pop guitars. All too present are synthesizers, keyboard claps and throbbing bass lines circa 1970s disco.
These instruments do no favors for the few well-written songs sprinkling this generic and disappointing release.
After the initial what-the-hell-are-these-people-thinking sensation settles — it never completely goes away — the croon of Jenny Lewis sets in.
Lewis howls words of sex and heartbreak reminiscent of the band’s early material. If it weren’t for Lewis, the album’s bright moments would be much dimmer.
The surf-rock inspired song “Smoke Detector” attempts to recreate the music fans found on previous records. “I took a man back to my room, I was smoking him in bed … I said ‘Danger,’ to the smoke detector.”
The consistency of More Adventurous, the band’s 2004 album, is nonexistent in Under the Blacklight. To find gems like “15,” which narrates the relationship of a 15-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man, listeners must wade through a handful of forgettable tracks.
“He was deep like a graveyard, she was ripe as a peach,” Lewis sings over an exuberant horn section.
The lowest point of the album, and not without coincidence, is the Blake Sennet-led “Dreamworld.” Sennet, the lead guitarist, frequently fronts the throwaway tracks on the band’s albums.
“Dreamworld” is no different. The drum machine introduction sounds more like Flight of the Conchords. The outer space guitar picking doesn’t help Sennet’s cause either.
The commercial hopes of this album cannot go unnoticed. “The Moneymaker,” the album’s catchiest song and first single, unfolds like a marketing plan drawn up by Warner Bros. — “You’ve got the moneymaker, this is your chance to make it.”
Perhaps “The Moneymaker” was written with the album’s title in mind. The pressure of a major label transformed the band from Rilo Kiley into a moneymaker, and fans must view the album under a blacklight to appreciate the band’s new direction.
That or this album just sucks.
Download: “15”, “The Angels Hung Around” and “Give a Little Love”
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