I have read quite a few reviews recently of Allen’s newest CD, Alright, Still, which seem to refer to her music as “real.” I’d like to examine what they all mean by this. Most of them seem to be using “real” meaning its easy to relate to, and to this statement I beg to differ.

This record seems to present Allen as being true to herself, and that can certainly be classified as “real,” but it is not for the masses to relate to. It is instead for the young and the rich, those with enough time on their hands to get into nightly club brawls with problematic girls, seek revenge on ex-lovers by spending their days cycling through all of the ex-lovers “mates.”

Some of her lyrics are not only irrelevant but down right cruel. Some are very immature, and others are just bad. For example, on the track, “Not Big,” Allen seeks revenge on her ex-boyfriend after a bad break up by trying to ruin his reputation.

Some of her lyrics are not only irrelevant but down right cruel. Some are very immature, and others are just bad. For example, on the track, “Not Big,” Allen seeks revenge on her ex-boyfriend after a bad break up by trying to ruin his reputation. Now, I understand that “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” but as Allen admits in the following lines, she was lying to this guy all along anyway: “All those times that I said I was sober,/ Well I’m afraid I lied,/ I’d be lying next to you, and you next to me,/ All the while I was high as a kite.”

Now, that doesn’t sound like the basis for a solid relationship in the first place. Then, there are the badly chosen rhymes such as “At worst I feel bad for a WHILE,/But then I just SMILE,” and the empty and juvenile sayings such as “If your gonna play with fire/ Then you’re gonna get burned.” Now I ask you, are lyrics like that adding to the music scene at large? The answer: not much.

Adding to this album music wise doesn’t present much either. Over the course of Alright, Still, Allen gives us syrupy pop vocals, horns and other ska-inspired samples initiating nearly every track. This album’s catchy beats (though they are all quite similar) and easy sing-along potential are bound to make it very popular. It is surely going to be on all the radio stations and in all the clubs, and that’s fine. It’s fluffy and easy. What I hope for Allen is that she gains more life experience and does some growing up, and presents her large audience with something much more interesting the next time around.

http://www.lilyallenmusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/lilymusic