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28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Undeniably and delightfully pop sprinkled with some hot pepper and honest lyrics., February 10, 2009
Lily Allen is not just a pampered, all-drinking, all-blogging celebrity brat made good, but an actual singer with distinctive vocals, cwhose fame is deserved. Happily, her songs still sound as though they were written under the influence of a truth serum. Like her debut "Alright, Still", its successor "It's Not Me,It's You" serves up tuneful veracity.
The opener "Everyone's At It", all set to a suitably addictive synthetic pop tune, uncannily foreshadows the drama that has already surrounded it, a pounding piano and operatic "Ah's" resonate before she chimes in with her straight talk, about drug-taking, legal and illegal: drugs are bad, don't take them...although "the kids are in danger" is hardly the most insightful lyric on the subject.
More sincere sounds "The Fear", her agreeably potty-mouthed comeback single, an electropop polemic against celebrity culture which has just topped the UK singles charts.
The track is even friendlier to American ears than the singles from "Alright, Still", thus Lily could follow Leona Lewis and Coldplay into the Billboard top ten.
For the most part, the album is a stylistically bold collection of everything we've come to know and love about Lily Allen.
She is not a bad storyteller, but that's the fame game, she needs to keep spinning the stories.
It is all co-written and produced by Greg Kurstin, the man who has sprinkled magic studio dust over the work of Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and All Saints. Their best moments are the gentle techno hoedown of "Not Fair", and the pseudo-handbag house of "Back To The Start", with Lily's talent for motor-mouthing Cockney clicking through the gears.
Producer Greg Kurstin has done a deft job of throwing her around genres (electronic pop, country, the klezmer madness of "Never Gonna Happen") but sometimes it is at the expense of her warmth.
It's good, but not perfect. Her voice will never be the strongest one.
This is undeniably pop.
But it's absolutely nice occasionally to hear a pop starlet mouthing just a little truth.
"Lily Allen is back where she belongs - in your head all day, with a melody that won't go away". - Lewis Bazley
Alright, Still
Fear
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unusual & Eclectic : Britain's Finest Solo Talent, March 11, 2009
I really disliked Lily's debut CD as I found it too cutesy for my own liking, and it was even more bewildering when publications like Spin and Blender started giving her four star reviews - it just didn't make sense. But recently, during a first spin of "The Fear", it was evident that the songstress has a certain something that transcends genre and musical definition, and curious as I was, I made it a point to pick up this album.
There are a couple of things to remember while listening to Lily Allen. She is not really a 'singer' in the true sense of the word. She sort of lazily recites words, almost reading them off a page, but her quaint intonation gives them great depth (I am reminded here of Nellie McKay and her epic double-CD "Get Away from Me"). She has this very British quality that brings to mind Leona Naess, and to a lesser extent Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes.
But its on the melodies and the lyrics that Lily really shines. Her own little view of the world, and primarily of her own self-worth is brought out beautifully through the course of the album - which also works as a 'concept' album in many ways. "The Fear" refers to various things - one could relate the lyrics to consumerism and politics and it would still make sense - but she brings down the house with her quiet burner "Chinese", which is essentially about staying in and eating food, but she spins it as some sort of allegorical tale.
What I especially respect about this album and its production is the fact that you can hear Lily enunciate every word clearly, rendering a lyrics sheet redundant. This is especially rare. The only other performer like this is Fiona Apple, and to a lesser extent Suzanne Vega, but Lily is clearly master of the medium. How great to listen to a song and 'get' every word. A rarity in this day and age of overproduced albums.
This CD is testament that though the UK can produce some truly mass-market nonsense, such as Leona Lewis or Westlife, they can also churn out some truly innovative and groundbreaking artists such as Lily Allen. The only comparable act to her right now in Britain is Girls Aloud, and thats a mighty tall compliment.
An intelligent, beautiful and thought-provoking album.
Four Stars.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Polished, Just as Delightful, February 10, 2009
This album was not a disappointment at all for me.
I adored the first album: the pop-folksy feel, the sense of humor, the candid lyrics--all with catchy upbeat tunes!
Don't quite have the new one memorized but it lives up to all my hopes and surpassed them in some noted cases (like "Him"!) She's a little more grown up and a little more produced in this album, but it's never too much. She retained the sense of humor and happy feeling. I love it!
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