Lily Allen says: It’s Not Me, It’s You
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
Lily Allen is back after three years with her (wonderfully-titled) sophomore release, It’s Not Me, It’s You. Her dark sense of humor is intact and the overly cheesy lyrics are gone on this album…you can tell that she’s matured during her time away. And with the help of Greg Kurstin (from The Bird and the Bee) the music has grown up as well. He replaces the ska influences with a more electronic sound that (with a few exceptions) flows much more smoothly than the stuff on the last album.
“Everyone's At It” starts the disc off strong with edgy music and lyrics that reflect a realistic view on the use of drugs in our highly medicated society in a post-“just say no” age. “The Fear” follows with a pop look into the superficial aspects of celebrity and entertainment with lines like “but it doesn’t matter ‘cause I’m packing plastic / and that’s what makes my life so fucking fantastic / I am a weapon of massive consumption / and it’s not my fault, it’s how I’m programmed to function.” The next good song, “Back to the Start,” is a musical apology (slightly reminiscent of The Streets for some reason) that brings back some of the edgy sound.
- Score
- 77%
There are a couple missteps, like the klemzer sounding “Never Gonna Happen” and “Fuck You,” a song that, while endearing at first, has the potential to become extremely cloying. The title ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ might have something to do with the person she talks about in “Not Fair,” a very country sounding complaint about the lack of bedroom skills in an otherwise desirable partner. In contrast, “Who'd Have Known” appears to be about the very beginnings of a relationship and the line “today you accidentally …called me baby” might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard in song form. These moments are incredibly personal and the fact that Lily Allen chooses to share them with us is one of the best things about her.
