As promised, a thread on the "adorable" Rilo Kiley (good call on that Nojax!). I recently pulled this record back out, after not paying it due attention when I first got it, and was blown away by it.

Much ado (too much!) is made in reviews and interviews about the fact that lead singer singer Jenny Lewis is a good looking woman and former child actress. Not as much ado is made about the fact that these guys (Lewis and guitarist Blake Sennett) write some great pop songs. "It's a Hit" and "Does He Love You?" are both candidates for best song of 2004, in my eyes.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm going to risk my indie credibility (what little of it I may have) and say that More Adventurous tops the New Pornographers for pure pop goodness.

A side note: there's a live Rilo Kiley ep available (called Live at Fingerprints) at some indie retailers. It's not available from the band's website, as far as I can tell.

Any thoughts on the earlier records? I haven't heard the Barsuk or Saddle Creek records as of yet...

I love Rilo Kiley, but put any song off More Adventurous up to "The Laws Have Changed" and watch it wilt in shame.

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Originally posted by Crash:
I love Rilo Kiley, but put any song off _More Adventurous_ up to "The Laws Have Changed" and watch it wilt in shame.

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Fair enough. I think I'm really in the minority of people who think the Pornographers are overrated. Part of it may stem from two lousy live performances I've seen, I think, and maybe some of it from my love of Carl Newman's pre-Pornographers work in the underappreciated Zumpano. I really don't get the infatuation with Neko Case.

I like a good bit of the most recent Pornographers record (including "The Laws Have Changed") but I really dig everything on More Adventurous, excepting the weird little ditty sung by Blake at the beginning of the record.

I only just discovered the "adorable" Rilo Kiley a few weeks ago on Global Pop Conspiracy radio. They have "Portions for Foxes" in rotation, which hooked me right away and has quickly become one of my rave fave singles of the year. I like the whole album and "It's A Hit" is a great, great single, but I just can't stop spinning "Portions for Foxes."

Up until that encounter, I'd not heard anything they'd done, so I'm looking forward to checking out the earlier releases. More Adventurous is camped on my list of favorites for 2004.

It's a hard call versus The New Pornographers. It was nearly this same time last year that my sister-in-law turned me on to Electric Version, which had damn near the same impact on me that Rilo Kiley has had this year.

Now Playing: "Directions" Josh Rouse Home

Mass Romantic is the closest thing I ever had to a mother or father. Electric Version is fluffy.

I can do the Roooboocop

Jenny Lewis was the one in The Wizard, right?

i find it funny tha they have 2 fully functioning websites.

The album is good...kind of an up and down thing for me i guess.

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Electric Version is fluffy.

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Is that a good or bad thing?

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Originally posted by Crash:

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Electric Version is fluffy.

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Is that a good or bad thing?

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"Letter from an Occupant" gives me a headache, so I'm saying fluffy is good.

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Fluffy has definitely got some negative connotations going for it! Electric Version is just too precise and overproduced and glossy and whatnots whereas Mass Romantic feels like they're really playing and having fun and stuff and "The Mystery Hours" and "To Wild Homes" and "Execution Day" and "Centre for Holy Wars" and "The Mary Martin Show" and "Breakin' the Law" and "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism" are just totally brilliant

Well, it's supposed to be precise and glossy. It's power pop. What fun is lo-fi power-pop?

I finally spun the Barsuk debut Take-Offs & Landings yesterday. On the whole, it's a much quieter, less hook-laden album thant More Adventurous. The song-writing is there and while the arrangments are a bit more sparse, in retrospect, you can hear what's coming. In this respect, I think in an apt comparison between Rilo Kiley and The New Pornographers. Both have become a bit slicker on the production end, which appeals to the power pop fan in me. With the one making the move to the majors and the other retaining (for now) their pure indie roots, it will be interesting to see how each develops.

Now Playing: NPR's Morning Edition

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Originally posted by Crash:
Well, it's supposed to be precise and glossy. It's power pop. What fun is lo-fi power-pop?

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A hell of a lot of, is what fun, thank you.

I bet you guys can change my mind though if you try real hard

The Wieve ranked The Elected's Me First from Rilo Kiley's Blake Sennett and Jason Boesel as one of the top albums of 2004. I only just caught up with it and have to agree it's a pretty damn fine album. There's a much heavier alt-country feel to it, but I'd be wrong to pidgeonhole it as it's really diverse from an instrumental standpoint.

I think I'd recommend it to fans of More Adventurous over the first couple of Rilo Kiley albums.

Now Playing: "Waves" The Elected Me First (Sub Pop)

That sounds pretty good, although I like the song Blake sings on More Adventurous the least. But it is a short little ditty...

I liked it when Rilo Kiley appeared on ABC's Once & Again and had Karen Sammler dancing to "The Frug" before she caught Eli and his friend with their fake IDs.

"More Adventurous" is great. It reminds me of 10,000 Maniacs before they went to the dogs -- smart, melodic, female-fronted pop. Favourite song is the opener, "It's a Hit".

"Any chimp can play human for a day
Use his opposable thumbs to iron his uniform
And run for office on election day
Fancy himself a real decision maker
And deploy more troops than salt in a shaker."

Wonder who she's talkin' about there....

Okay..if I get one RK album, should it be the 2002 one or the 2004 one?

The 2002 one got better reviews, but the 2004 one is higher on pazznjop.

(I like New Pornographers, but I think Electric Version has a few really good catchy songs and a bunch of 'consistantly above average' filler.)

The 2004 album has more (and better) hooks but is also more heavily produced. It sounds less 'indie' than either of the earlier records, if that matters to you. For my money, three or four of the best RK songs appear in the first 5 tracks on More Adventurous.
That's my two cents.

But I've seen criticism, from those who were fans of the band for a while, that More Adventurous is a sell-out record. I think that's more of the same "indies vs. majors" stuff that we were talking about elsewhere, but it's out there. Personally, I find the richer production values on the newest one endearing.

Oh, is *that* why the metacritic score is only 73?

Okay, screw them. I'll get More Adventurous.

That's the one to get, IMO. Yes, it is more produced and poppier, but neither of those things in and of itself says anything good or bad about its quality. To me, it is more consistent, with stronger songs. It's worth it for "It's a Hit" alone.