Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

Genre rock Publisher Brute/Beaute Records External Links Rilo Kiley

Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett are the rare former child actors who have actually put their residual checks and down time to good use. The end result, after three tries with three different labels, is the perfect pop album, with every note in its proper place, every lyric finely crafted, and not a moment wasted. Aside from a lone track parodying the indie rock (and indie fans) they're leaving behind, Sennett composes music for five of the tracks, including the impossibly catchy "Portions for Foxes," but mainly concerns himself with the arrangements: guitar lines percolating or sliding or just plain raving up, assorted keyboards for extra color.

When he needs something a little extra, he calls in gifted string arranger Nate Walcott, who propels the white soul-styled "I Never" into the realm of 21st century Dusty Springfield. Lewis writes music for the other half of the record, but excels especially in her lyrics, which reinvent love as a worthy song subject, from the hopeless love affair of "Does He Love You?" to several tracks about marriage that healthily balance realism with optimism. She even takes time out for a political broadside, which takes on George W. Bush, suburban complacency, vapid collegiates, selling out, and pro-death penalty Christians who think they're still going to heaven as they brandish their crosses. Then there's Lewis' ebullient, heartfelt singing, which recalls nothing so much as an urbanite country fan who doesn't need to fake a twang to make its presence felt. Featured on ten out of the album's eleven songs, the magical way she turns those phrases transforms a remarkably good album into a stellar one.