Though it's very easy to forget, Lily Allen started the re-interest in British pop back in 2006, when "Smile" was enjoying chart success around the world. It may not have been a blown-out, worldwide phenomenon, but there's no denying that Lily Allen was the first step into making British music popular again. In 2007, Amy Winehouse crashed through the door that was opened by Allen, thus obscuring her into the underground. Never-the-less, it was impossible to downplay Lily Allen's knack for sparking controversy, and while her music may not have been eating up the airwaves, her mouth definitely served great tabloid fare. So come 2009, with Winehouse falling from her high platform, Lily Allen basically offers more of the same with her sophomore work "It's Not Me, It's You".
Well, that's not entirely true. Still omnipresent is her quick wit, the clever barbs, and the bright and shiny production of Greg Kurstin, but there's a definite genre shift here. Instead of simply making "Alright, Still Part Two", she trades in the ska and reggae for club beats, ingratiating synths, and electronic flourishes. True, the entire album isn't the exact same: "Not Fair" is very old-Western electronic, "Never Gonna Happen" offers great Parisian nuances, and the fantastic George W. Bush kiss-off, "Fuck You", is filled with delightful two-step. All songs are given that bright, dance-pop finish, but their core musical structure remains. But, other than the change in sound, there's basically not much more that differs this album and its predecessor. However, that's not a bad thing in this case. Lily Allen is quick to satirize every social problem that she notices, both in the UK and the US. She bashes our over-reliance of crack and prescription meds on "Everyone's At It", she very cleverly snipes about our misplaced values on the album's best track "The Fear", and in addition to "Fuck You", she also points out why the perception of George W. Bush was so negative in "Him". But in addition to satire, she does offer plenty of universal messages, such as sibling rivalry in "Back to the Start", and wanting just a lazy afternoon with her beau in another one of the album's peaks, "Who'd Have Known?". The tracks have a tendency to sound too much alike, though, and what mainly drags the album down is "Never Gonna Happen", which seems a bit too awkward for this album, and the album's closer "He Wasn't There", an oldies-tune about her relationship with her distant father. Both tracks are definitely the album's filler, but given the deft production, even they sound really, really, good. Ultimately, these tracks are just par for the course, as the rest of this set is just pure, unadulterated fun. Lily is quick to pick the pace right up after a slower track, and only three songs pass the four-minute mark. "It's Not Me, It's You" was a very wise choice for an album title, as it delivers on that statement. This is the world we live in, and if you don't her satire or her observations, then that's purely your fault, not hers. In the end, Lily Allen is successful in avoiding the sophomore slump, mainly because she doesn't suffer from the inflated sense of self-worth that is often present in second outings. She knows who she is, what the purpose for her music is, and she is keen about what's happening in the world around her. All of these things, in addition to that effervescent dance-pop, actually make this album better than its predecessor in almost every possible regard. And while there's no guarantee that this will be a more ground-breaking success than "Alright, Still", it's still simply great music. That's one thing that is not up for debate.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Everyone’s
At It 2. The Fear 3. Not Fair
4. 22 5.
I Could Say 6. Back to the Start
7. Never Gonna Happen 8. Fuck You
9. Who’d
Have Known? 10.
Chinese
11. Him 12. He Wasn’t There
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