{"id":41347,"date":"2009-02-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/its-not-me-its-you\/"},"modified":"2009-02-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-02-09T00:00:00","slug":"its-not-me-its-you","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/its-not-me-its-you\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Not Me, It’s You"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems an age ago that Lily Allen\u2019s playful Alright, Still<\/i> arrived, bringing with it a fresh pop sound — coupled with the sort of wit and mischievousness not usually seen in chart toppers — that resulted in countless copycats.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Not only does her second album have to compete with a successful debut, but it also must contend with the legions of Lily-likes. Perhaps to counter this, Allen chose to move away from the ska-tinged flavour injected by former producer Mark Ronson and instead to a glossy-electro pop sound. The result is something of a mixed bag.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The shift was clear when the first single from It\u2019s Not Me, It\u2019s You<\/i> dropped. \u201cThe Fear\u201d lacks the horns, hooks and immediate appeal of \u201cLDN,\u201d an indication of what was to come with this album. Throughout the synth-and-irony-laden reflection of life through the eyes of a celebrity, it\u2019s clear that this is the same Lily, though: \u201cI\u2019ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless \/ \u2018Cause everyone knows that\u2019s how you get famous,\u201d she sings set to a sleek electro beat.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Further confirmation comes in \u201cNot Fair,\u201d the obligatory ex-boyfriend bashing that seems to accompany every Allen release. Producer Greg Kurstin\u2019s strange choice of a faux-country backdrop (topping Katy Perry\u2019s faux-lesbianism) makes the recounting of the ex\u2019s bedroom shortcomings — no pun intended — all the more intriguing. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI look into your eyes \/ I want to get to know ya \/ Then you make this noise and it\u2019s apparent it\u2019s all over\u201d is delivered alongside furious banjo plucking. The bizarre blend almost makes up for the cringeworthy \u201cI think you\u2019re really mean \/ You never make me scream\u201d rhyme. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Allen\u2019s vitriol is not just aimed at former lovers this time around. The subtlety titled \u201cFuck You\u201d is a farewell for President George W Bush — it was originally called \u201cGuess Who Batman\u201d — and encourages him to \u201cplease don\u2019t stay in touch.\u201d Despite the sincere sentiment and jaunty piano chord progression, the chorus just ends up as grating.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s At It\u201d is another attempt at tackling a weightier topic. Breaking news: everyone is taking drugs. \u201cSo your daughter\u2019s depressed \/ Well, get her straight on the Prozac \/ But little do you know \/ She already takes crack,\u201d Allen reveals, perhaps in a bid to get British tabloids back to sensationalising drugs instead of her love life.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s that part of her life, after all, that results in some of Allen\u2019s best material. \u201cWho\u2019d Have Known\u201d captures the giddy elation of a new relationship perfectly, though the chorus may sound remarkably familiar. It\u2019s borrowed from Take That\u2019s \u201cShine,\u201d though, of course, in Lily\u2019s hands the lyrics and delivery are improved exponentially. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s any right-wing evangelicals left listening after the revelations about Allen\u2019s sex life and the skewering of George W. Bush, they may enjoy \u201cHim.\u201d It\u2019s musings about a deity (insert your own), although it\u2019s far tamer than perhaps you\u2019d expect as it poses more questions than answers. It does reveal God\u2019s favourite band, though: \u201cI don\u2019t imagine he\u2019s ever been suicidal \/ His favourite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival.\u201d<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Not Me, It\u2019s You<\/i> is by no means perfect. There are more than a few clunky lyrics and sonic missteps, but on the whole, it\u2019s a slick, enjoyable and ultimately addictive listen — and is a step above most of the other pop poisoning the airwaves. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":29743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[8343],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-41347","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-lily-allen","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41347"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41347"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}