Album review: Lily Allen - Alright, Still (4/5)

Lily Allen is the daughter of Keith Allen, which means little outside of Britain, and should only be regarded as the foundation of her popularity, for Lily Allen has the potential to be a worldwide star in her own right. Like a more accessible Mike Skinner or a more mainstream Nellie McKay, Lily Allen interjects sharp wit, old-fashion melody, and a modern sensibility into songs, each of which tells a different story about what it’s like to be her—a young British woman living in London, chased by dirty young men, dining alfresco, etcetera. The stories are pretty universal for young women living everywhere trying to establish themselves and make their way. She has a sweet voice and a dirty mouth—a calculating combination she effectively uses to unsuspectingly jab anyone and anything that dare cross her.

Alright, Still hit #1 upon its release in the UK on the back of one of summer’s biggest hits, the breezy, cheeky “Smile,” which spent six weeks at #1 on the airplay chart. However sweet it sounds, “Smile” is a song about revenge, about taking joy in seeing a former lover cry after he’d jilted her. Any girl that’s ever been hit on in a bar by some sleaze can relate to rap-like “Knock ‘Em Out,” where Allen makes up obvious excuses as to why she’s not giving out her phone number.

The album’s shiniest moment comes next with “LDN,” short for London, it’s an ode to the big city she calls home and chronicles the singer riding her bike through the city on a summer day and realizing that seemingly normal events aren’t so normal if you take a second look. Like “Smile,” it has a breezy, jaunty melody, but it’s even better and quite humorous. It even includes a rhyme between “al fresco” and grocery store “Tesco.”

‘60s-ish “Everything’s Just Wonderful,” is of course the opposite of how things really are, like how she wants to get a flat but can’t secure a mortgage because she has bad credit and how she wants to eat “spaghetti bolognaise” and not feel bad it about for “days and days.” “Not Big” refers to exactly what you think it might, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg here—a rant to an ex-lover about how bad he is in bad that’s so mean it surely reduces his ego to the size of, well, what the title refers to.

The focus for many of the songs is the story and not so much the music, which is mostly pretty simple to allow Allen’s sing/rap blend to radiate to the forefront. “Friday Night” is about an evening at a nightclub where some “girl on the guest list dressed like a c***” decides, against better judgment, to pick a fight with Miss Allen. Brassy “Shame for You” is another song--this time directed to the guys—about how they’d better not cross her. It’s musically not very interesting, until the big chorus hits, which makes up for it.

“Littlest Things” is another standout, if only because it does pay more attention to the melody than many of the other tracks, and because it breaks from her “I’m a bitch and you’re gonna get it” mode. Like “Smile,” it’s a break-up song, but instead of joy, here’s she’s feeling sadness, lamenting the absence of the little things that made the relationship special. It’s a touching moment that displays she’s not a one-note, and not to be underestimated. It’s just a moment though, and rocky next track “Take What You Take” gets Allen back to ranting and raving about life and fairness and people that piss her off. Short, goofy “Alfie,” about her little brother smoking pot, wraps up the album.

Alright, Still is a strong pop debut, clearly showcasing Allen’s strong songwriting talents for spot-on humor, creative rhymes, and poignancy. After the initial chuckle wears off though, too many of the songs come across as rants—rants against boys, girls, and life in general. But Allen is young, and isn’t afraid to let her youthful immaturity show, so even that really isn’t too strong a criticism. It will be interesting to see how her music matures.