It’s always been about hard-earned, well-fought evolution for Rilo Kiley. There’s the shift from child-acting gigs to indie-pop near-domination. The label hopscotch from Barsuk to Saddle Creek and vanity endeavor Brute/Beaute to Warner Brothers (more on that later). Frontwoman (and Vegas native) Jenny Lewis’ morphing from cutesily moping songstress to ever-so-cynical, decidedly adult narrator with an increasingly explosive set of pipes. And let’s not forget the side projects (Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Bright Eyes, The Elected) that didn’t so much spread wings as grant perspective.
Flushing away their alt-country past like so much stepped-on cocaine, Lewis & Co. have crafted a synthy, beat-filled, horn-peppered ode to the trashier aspects of LA nightlife. There’s illicit sex (one-night stands), death, illicit sex (pornography), complacency, ambivalence, illicit sex (underage) and more, all unfolding beneath the titular blacklights.
The sassy, spicy, utterly laughable “Dejalo” aside, Under is packed with engrossing, full-bodied keepers, particularly the hypnotically pulsing, Yeah Yeah Yeahs-inspired
“The Moneymaker” and “Breakin’ Up,” a bouncy kiss-off with a nu-disco beat so exuberant one nearly misses the chilling lack of emotion beneath.
Some musicians seize that major-label carrot far too early. Some only get the chance past-prime. For a select few, the transition couldn’t come at a more ideal career stage. As a band, Rilo Kiley have grown up good—and they’re nowhere near done.
Rilo Kiley
Under the Blacklight
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