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When Rilo Kiley stick to bittersweet pop, as on '15,' a country romp about underage sex, the results are engaging enough. But that marriage of extremes is hard to pull off, and on 'Breakin' Up' they get it horribly wrong.
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Aside from whatever awaits Rilo Kiley if they discover, like Courtney Love before them, that deliberately setting the dial to AOR doesn't guarantee success--is the seam of graceless contrivance. Not just musically--but lyrically.
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The remainder of their fourth album, however, has a familiar Midwestern chug, and is a gorgeous confection of girl-group soft rock and country-tinged balladeering.
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Either they're utterly serious about their flirtation with the mainstream or they're taking the piss with a wink. In both cases, the songs suffer a smothering slow death by context.
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Sadly, it's an isolated gem ['Dejalo'] that can't lift Under The Blacklight out of its dull AOR mire.
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The one thing you can't accuse Under the Blacklight of is being boring, but it abides by an either/or sort of mentality that presumes that a complete lack of substance is the only alternative to the kind of music Rilo Kiley and their pals made in 2002.
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A messy set of songs caught up in a fruitless search for some kind of thematic self-justification. If Under the Blacklight really was a concept album, then the concept was irretrievably flawed.
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Alternative PressFans will love it, but if you're not already on board, this album won't change your mind. [Oct 2007, p.169]
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Yes, the beats are big and the sound is mainstream and commercial; however, the band sound restrained and uncomfortable.
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Under The RadarThe award for most disappointing album of the year (so far) gos without question to Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight. [Summer 2007, p.76]
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What makes Under The Blacklight a true disappointment is the shoddy songcraft.
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Lewis has tons of charisma--but it's a shame the shift in focus coincides with an album so superficial that her characters' hollow-eyed come-ons seem genuine by comparison.
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UrbThe disc's most memorable moments come in the musical ideas left abandoned. [Sep/Oct 2007, p.130]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 31 out of 52
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Mixed: 12 out of 52
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Negative: 9 out of 52
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Apr 2, 2011
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Mar 9, 2011
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EinarJ.May 4, 2008