Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Rilo Kiley – More Adventurous


Alternative +

Rilo Kiley – More Adventurous


Rilo Kiley managed to snag a spot on the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack with the song “Portions for Foxes.” After hearing them there I began a search for an album and eventually found More Adventurous.

One of the first things I noticed when listening to More Adventurous was the singer. I’m a sucker for the female voice and I wasn’t disappointed here. Jenny Lewis has a voice that is magical, even if at times you can hear shades of Jewel. But in the context of the songs on More Adventurous, her voice stands out in shining contrast to the darkness of the lyrics.

Yeah, I said the darkness of the lyrics…what about it. The lyrics to these songs are not entirely the happiest things I’ve ever listened to in my life. But they don’t have to be. She’s singing about things you wouldn’t normally associate with a very melodic, major key & “hooky” kind of song. I guess there’s a reason that most pop acts won’t touch things like death, war, cheating husbands and running into old lovers at funerals…but would you really want them to?

There is all this uniquely quirky instrumentation thrown into the songs on More Adventurous that just seems to fly at right angles to the lyrics. One of the best parts of that instrumentation is the guitar work by Blake Sennett. He manages to pull off some really intricate and tasty parts one minute and then the next, he throws in a really loose part that fits the song perfectly.

As far as I’m concerned, this album is worth a listen by anyone who’s looking for something a little different and a sure thing for anybody a little more daring.

You can purchase More Adventurous @


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is such a beautiful album! Jenny's voice is amazing.

Erin said...

This is a great post thaanks