Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

Fantastic! I truly feel that Lily Allen’s latest album is witty, lyrical poetry that deals with a more mature, fun, personal and sultry topics. The music is equally appealing and catchy. Overall, a solid and wonderful release!

Click here to purchase “Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You’ on Amazon

ARTIST: Lily Allen

ALBUM: It’s Not Me, It’s You (Digital Version)

LABEL: Capitol

DURATION: 43:12

RELEASE DATE: February 10, 2009

Everyone’s At It
The Fear
Not Fair
22
I Could say
Back to the Start
Never Gonna Happen
Fuck You
Who’d Have Known
Chinese
Him
He Wasn’t There
The Fear (Acoustic) – iTunes US Bonus Track
He Wasn’t There (Acoustic) – iTunes Pre-order Bonus Track
Who’d Have Known (Acoustic) – iTunes Pre-Order Bonus Track

Lily Allen is one of those music artists that typically gets featured infamously on the various tabloids for pretty much speaking bluntly of what she may feel at the moment.

For me, it’s one thing to read or hear about such things but you also tend to respect these music artists if they can talk the talk but manage to display the verbal savvy in their musical work. Lily Allen is definitely a music artist like that.

May it be about politics, society, religion or even other music artists, she has a sharp tongue but I’ve also been enamored by her lyrical skills and thus I have been highly anticipating the release of her second album “It’s Not Me, It’s You”. An album that utilizes synth pop and a variety of genres combined with an addictive beat.

The album starts off with the track “Everyone’s at it”. A song that many fans have heard on YouTube and overall an upbeat track that deals with drug use and the crap that goes along with it.

The second track is her hit song “The Fear”. Possibly a self-anthem about the whirlwind of her celebrity life. An upbeat pop track with addictive lyrics and beats.

The third track “Not Fair” is quite surprising as it has that classic Western feel but once combined with the beats, the song becomes an interesting song about no satisfaction for the woman after having sex in which Lily sings how the guy never makes her “scream”. In fact, here is an example of how the lyrics go with this track:

Oh, I lie here in a wet patch

In the middle of the bed

I’m feeling pretty damn hard done by

I spent ages giving head

The fourth track “22” is another personal song about a person that Lily knows and overall, an upbeat song about life at 22 for a woman and how today’s society views her. Sounds quite happy but there’s a bit of fear and sadness in the lyrics.

The fifth track “I Could Say” is about reflecting on a person after a breakup. Upbeat track with a cool groove with piano, synth and beats.

The sixth track “Back to the Start” is another upbeat synth pop track that is directed towards her older sister and more or less Lily apologizing to her. The two haven’t talked for a long time and how she envied her sister because she was beautiful, tall and thin and was very social. This song patched things up between Lily and her sister Sarah.

The seventh track “Never Gonna Happen” utilizes a French waltz style of music and a song about not wanting to have sex despite how desperate the other person wants it.

The eighth track, which is possibly my favorite track on the album is “Fuck You”. A song about hating a person’s perspective. I’ve never imagined those two words being used in a chorus and thoroughly enjoying the context of how it was used. The track which had been known in the charts in other countries as “Guess Who’s Batman” had been thought as directed towards George W. Bush because of the first letters of the original title but Lily Allen said that it was actually about the British National Party but it’s a song that could be relevant anywhere. Overall, a fun track.

The ninth track “Who’d Have Known” has a very awesome groove and beat that has that old school 1960’s British sound. Overall, a fun track that is actually more about finding new love. The song uses a chorus similar to Take That’s “Shine” and eventually was posted on Allen’s MySpace page and wasn’t going to be included. But the band allowed her to use the chorus and thus it was put back in the album.

The tenth track “Chinese” is an upbeat pop track about waiting for your love to come home and going out and get Chinese (food) and kick back and watch TV.

The eleventh track “Him” is an acoustic guitar track that transitions to a beat and bass guitar diddly and it’s a song that sounds so serene but in a way, there are some prickly lyrics that Allen just wants to let out.

The 12th track “He Wasn’t There” features a sample of an old school 1920-1930’s Jazz style of sound and about giving a person you love some time.

Overall, “It’s Not Me, It’s You” is a fantastic album. The direction is more synth pop for the majority of the tracks but what caught my attention was Allen’s lyrical work. Of course, the music is no slouch either as you get a good number of tracks with addictive hooks.

Personally, I like the collaboration with producer Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee) and in fact, this album is very “The Bird and the Bee” like but that’s not a bad thing because their style and Lily Allen’s lyrical style work well together.

Listening to the lyrics, I definitely am enamored by her independence and bluntness through her words. May the song be about how a guy is bad in bed or making her position known to the politicians or just a song about enjoying one’s company, Allen writes lyrics the way she wants and makes things happen.

If anything, those who were so drawn to Allen’s brass and ska styles from the past and hear her music because more synth pop and experimental may be disappointed. Personally, for an artist like Lily Allen, I’m all open for something new and different from her and “It’s Not Me, It’s You” is such an album that is her style of “I’m going to do what I want, if you don’t like it, then fuck you”.

All in all, I found “It’s Not Me, It’s You” to have substance and most of all, a woman who can back it up. Overall, found it to be a solid and fantastic album.

Click here to purchase “Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You’ on Amazon