Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You Album Review
19 Feb
[rating:69/100]
Lily Allen is the ideal 21st century pop star to me. She is a pop star that has been able to break the mainstream, while also becoming an indie darling. With the help of the Internet and a talent for writing irresistible songs, her debut album “Alright, Still” was a success on the UK charts and with critics. You could also say that she is responsible for the direction that many female artists such as Kate Nash have taken in regards to pop with harsh romance based lyrics. What makes Lily Allen so special is the joyous feeling that her music brings. No matter what type of mood I am in, listening to her rip other men a new one puts a smile on my face. That is quite a talent Lily! Thankfully after almost 3 years, Allen has finally released her long awaited sophomore album “It’s Not Me, It’s You”, and there is plenty to be pleased about.
The album starts of with the synth heavy “Everyone’s At It” where she hits on drugs and other aspects of the celebrity culture that she is quite familiar with. It is a good start but it plays off as an introduction to the awesome “The Fear” which is 3 and a half minutes of pop perfection. Lily touches on how life as a tabloid queen has treated her. Lily sings “I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore” and it comes off as sincere. You begin to wonder how this life is truly affecting her.
Half way through Lily‘s sophomore album you realize that it is more beat happy than ska-happy. This does style suits her perfectly and it does not make the music any less enjoyable. In fact the fantastic production on songs like “Back To The Start” allow Lily‘s vocals to truly shine. Check out the pop gem known as “Fuck You” and you will see that Lily has not lost her edge at all, but rather created one of her greatest songs yet.
The first chunk of the album is full of upbeat pop gems, while the second half tails of with songs that don’t just slow down on tempo but also on content. The collection of songs at the back of the album are not discussing penis size or life as a celebrity but rather the concept of settling down with someone (“Chinese”), or a missing father figure (“He Wasn’t There”). Although I thought the pacing of the album took a big hit it doesn’t mean that the last few tracks are bad by any means. Lily just needs to find a way to mix her upbeat style with more laid back serious content to keep things balanced.
While glancing at some of the critics reviews I believe that they were anticipating another care free pop album. The subject matter in some ways is similar to her debut, but it is clear that Lily Allen is showing a different side to her. It seems that she may be looking for someone to settle with, or that she is secretly worried about her image in the overbearing NME. Altogether, when you look at “It’s Not Me, It’s You” you have a solid collection of pop tunes full of hooks, catchy chorus’s, big beats, that give us a little more detail to the crazy journey that is a Lily Allen album. Lily remains as real as anyone making music today, and I can always tell from her sweet voice that she is telling it how it is. A true pop star. We need more Lily Allen‘s in our life.
Recommended Tracks: Fuck You, The Fear, Not Fair
Will Oliver is a guest blogger here at PMA. Go to We All Want Someone to pick his musical mind.
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didnt lily have a miscarriage ? didnt she also break up with the dude she was engaged to ? i think its odd that there was no mention of either of these when they were clearly the biggest events in her life since the last album. Instead the “personal” tracks talk about chinese food (wtf)
I commend you, Will. I couldn’t bring myself to give her any good credit. A decent pop album, but nothing to go crazy about. Nice review!
I pretty much love anything she touches… a TRUE artist!
I really recommend you add commentary on one of the best songs not on the album that really should be
kabul Shit
Fag hag is great too
I agree with the review otherwise.
“a TRUE artist”?
“a talent for writing irresistible songs”?
The whole album was co-written with Greg Kurstin. Seeing as Kurstin is a genius (this is the guy who wrote Circus), and Lily is quite clearly not particuarly bright, the cynic in me says that this album was basically written about her by someone else. This is reinforced by the point that someone else made; break up and miscarriage not mentioned. Surely she would have touched on these subjects if she had been in full control of the songwriting process.
I urge you to watch some interviews of her. She is an idiot.
Chinese Is A Great Track, Definitely My Favorite
Great review! Fuck You is her best track in her career so far but I’m sure she’ll top it on her third release! I WANT MORE!
I have loved Lily Allen from the start and I also LOVE this album. I think it’s even better than the first, but maybe that’s because it hasn’t been overplayed yet. She’s great…even if she doesn’t write her own stuff. And maybe the abortion and break up were too much for her to talk about…she’s human and may not want everyone to know EVERYTHING about her. And for the guy that commented about “Circus”, Britney Spears is way more of an idiot than Lily Allen…
“fff”, I’m almost positive that Lily said the album was going to be a personal one, but not touching a bit of her personal life. Like what a normal person would go through in their lives.
Don’t point and shoot a gun at me if I’m wrong though.
she’s looking hotter, but her music is still crap…
Her sophomore effort is a nice progression from the Debut. The opneing three tracks are up with some of the best pop you’ll hear. I think the album does struggle to maintain that momentum, but she’s still doing good work.
It’s still good enough to be at #8 from 94 albums I’ve reviewed so far on my blog…
I thing i luv about lilly’s musik is that, no matter the mood i am in,listening to her rip puts smile on my face,which means she is gifted.