Lily Allen - Alright, Still Review
Posted by James Munson on 02.06.2007
MySpace sensation mouths off on relationships, boys, and grandmothers. Result: one fine party record.
I hate hype. Nothing is a quicker buzz-kill than hearing how much something needs to be seen or heard because it's cool or because it's going to be the next big thing. Regardless, I'm more likely to pay attention to something that's over-hyped if the attention is rightfully warranted. Enter: Lily Allen. Having not heard anything about this daughter of famous musician/actor Keith Allen, I decided to research her MySpace page (which has close to 2 million hits) and pick up her debut LP (out in the UK last year and most recently released in the U.S. with bonus tracks).
Alright, Still has everything that you could possibly want out of a fun, dance record. It also possesses a few eyeball-rolling clichés. Allen's hipper-than-thou contemporary dress, sneakers, and "bling" and cute bubble-lettering on LP artwork are enough to make anyone with an ounce of hipster cred to stay away. The album itself is pretty overproduced, but this also one of its strong points. Lily Allen's blend of reggae, dub, pop, and new wave make this record impossible to deny once it's been embraced. There's a couple of slower numbers here as well, but for the most part, Allen keeps the volume cranked and dishes out the disses like fellow UK rival Lady Sovereign.
"Smile", first track and new MTV popular favorite, is a kiss-off to an ex-boyfriend and features a biting, memorable chorus ("At first when I see you cry, Yeah it makes me smile"). "Knock 'Em Out" is a humorous diatribe against a pestering male who doesn't know when to quit ("I've gotta go cos my house is on fire, I've got herpes, err, no I've got syphilis…") and Allen's rapping is undoubtedly akin to The Streets. On "Everything's Just Wonderful", Allen's attitude is cynical and realistic ("Oh well I guess I mustn't grumble, I suppose that's just the way the cookie crumbles.")
On other songs, including my personal favorite - 50 Cent sampling "Nan, You're A Window Shopper", she spews forth a denunciation of her grandma for liking "her tea milky" and being "all covered in cat hair" over a bass-thumping pulse. Elsewhere, bonus track "Smile (version revisited)" is a sped-up version of the first track with a "Lust for Life"-like groove pushing it along.
Instrumentation on this record is lush and full, with horns ("LDN"), saxophone ("Alfie"), keyboards, and piano complementing the Lily Allen's bass-heavy backbeats. When it comes down to her style, Allen falls somewhere in between Geri Halliwell a.k.a. Ginger Spice and M.I.A. minus the politics. If this sounds like a bad thing, it’s completely not. As far as debut records go, Alright, Still hits all the right marks in the area of feel-good music. If that’s not an accomplishment, I’m not sure what is.
The 411: Alright, Still is catchy, funky, and full of pep. Allen seems to take pride in not taking herself too seriously. The result is an enjoyable listen that doesn’t fade with repeated listens. This is perhaps the most enjoyable bubblegum record I’ve heard in some time.
