Satan's Luau

Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous REVIEW: A++

From the opener "It's a Hit" which manages to take on the President and the record industry in the same song, it is clear that RK can seriously write a song that is lyrically and musically compelling, ... and big bonus points for this album not having it be some jackoff experimental crap that some indie pop devolves into ... just straightforward good music that is a pleasure to listen to

The second song "Does He Love You?" ... is barring something else that knocks it out of the park, the song of the year for us. I never thought that there could be an epic pop song. I suppose the reason why is that pop is short by nature, and perhaps overly repetitive. This little pop song has so much packed into it all the way through to a big finish that couldn't be bigger sounding than hard rock ... how can pop rock so hard, I shake my head at how excellent this song is

The album really takes off with the third track, "Portions for Foxes"... a modern alt pop rocks masterpiece. When Jenny says she's bad news, hell ... it's believable, funny, and such a great song on so many levels. From its use of acapella, to simple guitar harmonies, dynamics, it's just an elegant example of what modern radio rock should sound like

"Ripchord" is a nice changeup ... as the boys take over on the vocals. This one has one of those old time Farrells flavors to it, like 20s rag style mono stripped down pop ... reminds a little of M.Ward style, and just gotta love the whistling outro

"I Never" sounds like an outtake from Grease ... not included because it is in many ways that naive 50s/60s solo female singer ballad, but with a certain tongue in cheek dark, over the top modern satire quality to it that is often not acknowledged by oldies stations ... very solid song ... and as you can tell, this album is so wonderfully diverse in style yet it is compelling no matter the style

"The Absence of God" is a female folksy pop song ... one that I have waited for the many in the Lisa L. genre to write. One where I go now that's something I can get behind, and fully enjoy without reservation ... one that is accessible and unrestricted by the self-imposed limits of the genre. This one is oh so close to being it, the penultimate ... it falls a little short of it, but still a great track

"Accidental Deth" ... this one has a synth flavor ... almost a nod to RK side project, the postal service, but in a by far more accessible package ... if I had to pick the weakest track, it would be this solid track

"More Adventurous" really reminds me of 70s countrified pop, like those old Linda R. efforts. Jenny just has this fantastic vulnerable voice that tells a great story and is such a great unique emotion carrying voice. Just a compact, loveable country flavored pop piece, it's great

"Love and War (11/11/46)" has a great dirty alt driving riff ... again, this song is an unexpected changeup, as most of the songs have been relatively clean sounding and generally poppy. This is a great listenable radio rocks song that darkens it up a bit to great effect

"A Man/Me/Then Jim" is a wonderful 70s style female folk/country pop ballad song ... I could see Olivia NJ or even Linda R. singing it, but then again it has a dark aspect to go with a compelling verse and chorus. Songwriting here is excellent.

"It Just Is" is an interesting closer because it could not be any more poppier, yet is very real about matters in life ... it's not uplifting, it's not depressing ... (although you could take it either way) ... it just is, another under 3 minute piece of 60s influenced pop ballad goodness.

Barring the unfathomable, this will be the band and album of the year ( ... when I do that next, yes it is time to hold your breath for that).

This one is a modern indie pop classic, to me anyways ... it's just too bad no one mainstream has picked it up -- A++