Best of 2000s: Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight (4.5/5)

All music calls Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight a "sleazy crawl through L.A. nightlife, teaming with sex and tattered dreams." It's hard to believe the subject is so bleak, when the music is so upbeat and enjoyable. Although their fourth album, this was my first exposure to the band, and it remains my favorite. Sweet "Silver Lining," darker "Close Call," strutting "Moneymaker," and shoulda-been-a-major-hit "Under the Blacklight" are the standouts, but there are lots of gems here. The band received a lot of Fleetwood Mac comparisons with this disc, most apparent on "Dreams"-like "Dreamworld." Jaunty "Breaking Up" sounds a bit like No Doubt (and "Give a Little Love" like post-No Doubt Gwen Stefani). "Smoke Detector" is quite '70s. If that makes for an interesting mix of influences, it certainly makes for a good listen. This is one of the less mainstream entries in my best of 2000s series, so for those of you who have never heard of them, I highly recommend giving this a spin.

Best: Under the Black Light, Silver Lining, Close Call, The Moneymaker, Dreamworld, Give a Little Love

Best of 2000s: Other albums 2003-2005

Because I couldn't narrow it down to just 10, here are 12 other notable albums from 2003 through 2005:

Evanescence - Fallen
With its dark, but accessible tones, the gothic yet top 40 friendly Evanescence struck a chord in 2003 with its hit single "Bring Me to Life." Better yet was their gorgeous third single "My Immortal." I remember particularly enjoying this album walking around the city on cold but sunny winter days that year. Essential: My Immortal

Innocent Eyes - Delta Goodrem
Australian Delta Goodrem's debut showcased the pop singer as a classy act, as adept in front of the piano as she was in front of the microphone. Sadly, her tabloid romance with former Westlifer Brian McKnight seems to have completely eclipsed her musical career, but back in 2003, she looked on course to become the next Celine Dion. Essential: Lost Without You

Dido - Life for Rent
Dido's second album was almost as good as her first, continuing in the electronic adult pop vein with songs like "White Flag" and "Don't Leave Home"--the latter of which was about drug abuse but mistakenly assumed to be a love song and played at weddings (according to Dido, who told this story during her 2004 concert tour). Essential: White Flag

Sugababes - Three
Three was the Sugababes last great album. Although it lacked singles as good as its predecessor, the other tracks were more consistently good, such as the slamming "Whatever Makes You Happy" and cool "Conversations Over." It was with this album that the group tried but failed to break into the US market. Essential: Hole in the Head

Alicia Keys - The Diary of Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys' albums haven't quite lived up to their hype, but this, her second, was the best of the trio. I love its old school flair, and there are a lot of great moments here (like the spoken word confession of the diner waitress on "You Don't Know My Name"). Essential: If I Ain't Got You

Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin
Avril Lavigne's second album largely avoided the punky/pop sound she cultivated on debut Let Go. Pity it didn't work out for her, for I actually think this is by far her best album, with darker more mature themes. Essential: Together

Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
As a stepping stone between their indie roots and their recent, more mainstream Under the Blacklight (which I'll be featuring later), More Adventurous effectively shows off both sides of the band. Essential: I Never

Gwen Stefani - Love.Angel.Music.Baby
Breaking from No Doubt in the mid 2000s, Gwen Stefani released two stylized dance pop albums. This, the first and better received of the two, showcased the singer's taste for fashion, dance, hip-hop and '80s synths. Essential: Cool

Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi
After seeing the quality of her albums decline from Daydream through Rainbow (and hitting rock bottom with Glitter and Charmbracelet), Mariah Carey reinvented herself with The Emancipation of Mimi, a winning set of modern R&B with a retro sensibility. Essential: We Belong Together

Gorillaz - Demon Days
With Demon Days, Gorillaz, the cartoon band side-project from Blur's Damon Albarn stepped off the page to become a legitimate musical act ("Feel Good Inc." was a much bigger hit than anything Blur's released in years). Essential: Feel Good Inc.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
The playful debut from the Kaiser Chiefs was upbeat and fun, with nods to punk and '80s new wave similar to that of the Killers (who broke out at about the same time). Essential: I Predict a Riot

James Blunt - Back to Bedlam
Earnest, acoustic male pop singers proliferated this decade (see John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Daniel Powter, etc.). While I'm generally not into this kind of thing, I rather liked James Blunt's 2005 debut. Essential: You're Beautiful

Album Review: Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous (2004, 4.5/5)

After having completely fallen in love with Rilo Kiley's fourth album, Under the Blacklight, I decided to explore their previous work. I know some fans felt rubbed by their new album for being more mainstream, so I was interested to hear what they sounded like in the past. More Adventurous was the band's third album--a stepping stone between the indie The Execution of All Things and the mainstream Under the Blacklight, it was released on an indie label but distributed by Warner Bros. It also musically bridges those two albums, being both quirky like Execution but with more of the hooks found on Blacklight.


"It's a hit" has humorous lyrics ("any asshole can open a museum, put the things he loves on display"), horns and a bit of the country twang that peppers Blacklight, although Jenny's machine gun lyrical delivery here took awhile to win me over. Better yet is "Does He Love You?," another country-ish ballad, that finishes with a fantastic flourish of strings. "Portions for Foxes" is perhaps the abum's best-known track, as well as its most conventional, pushing a driving melody over bass and guitar rock.


After that, skip over oddity "Ripchord," which is thankfully only 2 minutes long, to the soulful croon of "I Never," which builds quietly from the first repetitive chorus through verses of country-tinged layers of vocal harmonies, twangy guitars and strings to the final belting chorus where Jenny really goes for it. That big sound contrasts with acoustic "The Absence of God," which features the memorable lyrics: "Folk singers sing songs for the working, baby; we're just recreation for all those doctors and lawyers. There's no relief for the bleeding heart."


The album maintains its consistency through its second half. "Accidental Deth" quivers with electronic flourishes over the acoustic guitars. Title track "More Adventurous" lays the country accents on thickly, as does final track "It Just Is." Neither are has much fun as rockin' "Love and War (11/11/46)" though (anyone who what that date means?).

More Adventurous isn't quite as much fun as Under the Blacklight, but it comes pretty close. There's more country influence here that I expected, which isn't a bad thing, as Jenny has the range for both gentle balladry as well as the more belting rock numbers.

Best: I Never, Does He Love You? Portions for Foxes, It's a Hit, Accidental Deth, The Absence of God, Love and War (11/11/46)