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Under the Blacklight | 
| Artist: Rilo Kiley
Label: Wea
Category: Music
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £5.98
You Save: £6.01 (50%)
New (36) Used (10) from £4.29
Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 1729
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 189372
UPC: 093624995654
EAN: 0093624995654
ASIN: B000QUUE1Y
Release Date: August 20, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Silver Lining | | • | Close Call | | • | Moneymaker | | • | Breaking Up | | • | Black Light | | • | Dreamworld | | • | De Jalo | | • | Fifteen | | • | Smoke Detector | | • | Angels | | • | Give A Little Love |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
There had to have been doubts, after Rilo Kiley lead girl Jenny Lewis' successful solo sojourn with the Watson Twins (2006's sumptuous, acclaimed Rabbit Fur Coat album), that she would ever come home to roost. There was no obvious need--she was the recognisable face of the band as it was, and had gone on to distil Rilo Kiley's sharp-witted alt-country pleasantry down to its roots and add an irresistible wholesomeness, the grace of a bygone age. But we find her back fronting Rilo Kiley, if only to prove that she's an indie diva on the rise and can wear any boot she sees fit. And here, on Under The Blacklight, we find her in sequinned disco boots ("Breakin' Up" is like something off Bright Eyes' Digital Ash album if the benchmark were Donna Summer's back catalogue), 60s girl group heels (the crying out for its own dance "Smoke Detector"), legwarmers ("Dejalo" is a low-light Gloria Estefan/Madonna-esque strut) and the old fashioned tan suede we were used to (the gorgeous "Close Call" should satisfy anyone who fell in love with "It's a Hit" from their last record). It's quite a distinct upturn in style for the band who forge on with steely determination, perhaps at the expense of the soft skinned appeal of More Adventurous, but ensuring that there's enough momentum to see them safe for a few years yet. --James Berry
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
full of little pop gems July 22, 2008
I've dipped in and out of Rilo Kiley for a couple of years, and I fully enjoyed Jenny Lewis's solo album 'Rabbit Fur Coat' (which I'd highly recommend). I heard a lot about this new album of theirs, complete with 'sell-out' accusations, so I had a feeling I should check it out and see for myself. I'm very glad I did, because it's a wonderful album, packed with songs that will grow on you.
It's mostly a change from Rilo Kiley's past folky offerings (why does that sound dodgy?), instead focusing on disco beats and sweet pop melodies. This doesn't make it less worth listening to - in fact it's an accessible album that you can play in the car, at home... It's full of acute lyrical observations and sharp music, and the Fleetwood Mac comparisons are not without foundation. Jenny Lewis has a gorgeous voice, which goes from sweet to sassy in consecutive songs.
My favourite tracks would be Silver Lining, Moneymaker and Breakin' Up, which I think is one of the best break-up songs ever! Put on your dancing shoes, let the songs grab hold of you and I'm sure you'll like this record as much as I do.
Sophisticated grown-up pop June 4, 2008
I came to `Under the Blacklight' without having heard any of the band's earlier work, but aware of their reputation, and with Uncut's endorsement of the album as "the coolest thing recorded this year". That this is merely a very good album of sophisticated, grown up pop/rock, not a million miles from Fleetwood Mac's mid-seventies work was a surprise. Expectations can be a dangerous thing. Give it a little time though, and there's a lot here to enjoy. Rilo Kiley offer polished, classy songs with proper verses, choruses and hooks. As well as hints of the Mac, the charming, summery opener `Silver Lining' quotes the opening guitar figure of `My Sweet Lord' (a good thing) and sets toes tapping, but the title track is horribly reminiscent of The Corrs. That aside the album is consistently good, and the tunes will snag in your brain with repeated listening. Unfortunately for Rilo Kiley, `Under The Blacklight' lacks those killer songs needed to crossover into massive success.
 Perfect Pop Pap February 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Bought this on the strength of the first album and the rather wonderful Rabbit Fur Coat, plus a glowing five-star review in Uncut. Heard it and was unsure. Bit of George Harrison, bit of Fleetwood Mac - only blander. Listened to it again, and a couple of the tunes started to lodge themselves in my head. But not in a good way. In a Kylie, 'I should be so lucky; lucky, lucky, lucky' irritating, stop-it-and-leave-me-alone way. Suddenly, the name of the band made sense. 'Break'n u-u-up' and 'Smo-ow-ow-oke Detector' still plaguing me. Aargh! Make it go away...
 modern 70's soft rock February 7, 2008
a sort of tribute to late 70's era Fleetwood mac but very much in their own style; conjures up powerful and seductive images of a cast of characters
A decent album, but not as good as I'd hoped it'd be January 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The follow-up to 2004's excellent 'More Adventurous' from the LA-based Rilo Kiley was a highly anticipated release as yet another exceptional album would have proved too much for the music world, as a whole, to ignore. It's with a little sadness that I have to say that 'Under The Blacklight', although being a good album with more than a handful of catchy songs and clever lyrics, isn't the exceptional album I had hoped for.
The first thing that struck me about this album on the first album was the fact that Rilo Kiley had moved towards more of a commercial pop direction, compared to the indieish guitar based previous releases. There are more big basslines and more programmed drumlines to be found here than on any of their other records.
Simply put, it's a good listen and it's full of tunes and riffs which will stick in your head for most of the day after you've heard them. The album's opener the very listenable 'Silver Lining', for example, has a guitar riff which sounds suspiciously like 'My Sweet Lord'. Perhaps 'stealing' from a track which was judged to have unconciously plagarised The Chiffons was a deliberately ironic move, but still, it's too similar to ignore.
Other highlights include 'The Moneymaker', a stomping, powerful track that just oozes sexuality and 'Under The Blacklight', a song which, at first, appears to be synth-driven, but then expands to perhaps the highlight of the album, a sweet, country-tinged track with a goregous vocal delivery by Jenny Lewis.
The rest of the album is merely fairly good and never drops below listenable, although the Blondie-esque 'Dejalo' and the extremely ordinary 'Give A Little Love' come as close to being low points without there really being one. If you can find this album at a bargain price, I'd suggest that you pick it up and give it ago - I would be surprised if there wasn't at least a couple of songs on this album that most people, regardless of their musical leanings, would enjoy.
If there was an option for 3-and-a-half stars, I would have chosen that, but I've decided to round up instead of down.
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