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Rating: Probably most followers of indie pop made in the USA know Jenny Lewis for her participation in that dazzling pocket masterpiece that was "Give Up" by the Postal Service and for her solo album with the Watson Twins from last year. But not much attention is given to her actual band, Rilo Kiley, a quartet from Los Angeles that debuted in 2001 with this "Take Off And Landings", a CD that can be described as absolutely delightful, right from the first notes of "Go Ahead", almost a folk nursery rhyme for voice and guitar, where Lewis's vocal talent begins to be felt (literally). The following track, "Science Vs. Romance", is more electric, but not too much, a ballad that slowly swells until the guitars ignite, but it's just a moment and then it's back to calm, to the dreamy and well-crafted guitar pop (Rilo's trademark) that also pervades tracks like "Wires And Waves" and especially "Pictures Of Success" (a must in almost all the mixtapes I prepare and listened to obsessively during a past trip to California - perhaps for the atmosphere? Who knows), which, according to me, is the best piece on the album, almost seven minutes in which Jenny's whispered singing is supported by an absolutely measured and perfect jingle-jangle. In short: a perfectly constructed POP! song, as if it had been orchestrated in every detail, complete with a horn section in just the right place. But there's more: there's time for "August", sung by the guitarist, and for another delicate folk tune, the short "Bulletproof", which opens the second part of the record, where the beautiful "Don't Deconstruct" and "Rest Of My Life" stand out, reminiscent of the more country pages of Conor Oberst alias Bright Eyes (let's skip over the somewhat too radio-friendly interlude of "Always").
In conclusion, this remains one of the most successful works of a group that is only now beginning to achieve well-deserved success even in Europe, after signing a major contract with Warner Bros. Get it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Go Ahead (03:34)
if you want to find yourself by travelling out west
or if you want to find somebody else that's better
go ahead
go ahead
if you want to buy a brand new fancy automobile
or if you want to build a place up in coldwater canyon
go ahead
go ahead
go ahead
i wish you would
go ahead
if you want to hold your own hand going up that cliff
or if you want to just hold back cause you ain't up to it
go ahead
go ahead
go ahead
be my guest
go ahead
if you want to hold on to the first girl that you meet
or if you want to settle down and plant roses at my feet
go ahead
go ahead
go ahead
i wish you would
go ahead
if you want to have your cake and eat it too
and if you want to have other people watch you while you eat it
go ahead
go ahead
go ahead
be my guest
go ahead
if you want better things
i want you to have them
if you want better things
then i want you to have them
go ahead
go ahead
go ahead
i wish you would
go ahead
go ahead
i wish you would
go ahead
02 Science vs. Romance (05:43)
i used to think if i could realize i'd die
then i would be a lot nicer
used to believe in a lot more
now i just see straight ahead
that's not to say i don't have good times
but as for my days
i spend them waiting
crash sites keep me up at night
impact division it splits in two
directly underneath you
as for those things (as for those things)
that act as markers in your life
but in between (but in between)
you can't remember
and so it seems (and so it seems)
that you've grown up and over me (up and over me)
and these silly things (these silly things)
i like to dwell on
test sites keep me up at night
chainlink and meters
i talk to you
it's cold out there
but i'm telling you
i'm lonely too
facts versus romance
you go and call yourself the boss
but we're not robots inside a grid
text versus romance
you go and add it all you want
still we're not robots inside a grid
zeros and ones
03 Wires and Waves (03:18)
There are twelve hours
There's a day between us
And you called to say you're sorry in your own way
There are oceans and waves and wires between us
And you called to say
You're getting older
And sometimes planes they smash up in the sky
And sometimes lonely hearts they just get lonelier
How did you survive all those fires and floods?
How did you survive your insufferable friends?
It was the plow that broke the western plains
And it's just my heart gets rejected by my veins
And sometimes planes they smash up in the sky
And sometimes lonely hearts they just get lonelier
And lonelier
And lonelier
And lonelier
And lonelier
And lonelier
And lonelier
And lonelier
And sometimes planes they smash up in the sky
And sometimes lonely hearts they just get lonelier
04 Pictures of Success (06:51)
Build your own television receiver
Staying home can't be that bad for me
'cause I'm not scared
but I'd like some extra spare time
Easily earn me big money
I'm a modern girl but I fold in half so easily
when I put myself in the picture of success
I could learn world trade
or try to map the ocean
When you're dead
in hospitals and freeways
When you're dead
in resting homes and clinics
When you're dead
It must be nice to finish
when you're dead
I've had it with you
and Mexico can fucking wait
And all of those French films about trains
'cause I'm not scared
but I'd like some extra spare time
I'm not scared
but the bills keep changing colors
When you're dead
in hospitals and freeways
When you're dead
in dress shirts and neckties
When you're dead
in apartments and on beaches
When you're dead
They say California is a recipe for a black hole
and I say I've got my best shoes on
I'm ready to go (ready to go)
ready to go
ready to go
I'm ready to go
ready to go
ready to go
ready to go
I'm ready to go
ready to go
ready to go
ready to go
I'm ready to go
ready to go
ready to go
ready to go
I'm ready to go
These are times that can't be weathered and
we have never been back there since then
These are times that can't be weathered and
we have never been back there since then
These are times that can't be weathered and
we have never been back there since then
These are times that can't be weathered and
we have never been back there since then
06 Bulletproof (01:57)
if you think you're bulletproof, you're right
because you've weathered all my slings and arrows well
if you think i'm paranoid, that's fine
cause i've got evidence on my side
if you want to come over tonight
that's fine because i have no plans
please be kind, don't drop the rock on me
how many blows to the belly will this thing take
that we refer to as our true love?
we both knows it dead and its been dying for some time
but we refuse to let it go
please be kind, don't drop the rock on me
don't go outside and discover that you like being free
cause if you did you'd be dropping the rock on me
09 Small Figures in a Vast Expanse (03:19)
let's try a new change
let's try a new change
let's try a new change
then we'll go on back to the old one
like we've done so many times before
and i'll buy a new brain
i'll buy a new brain
you'll administer new pain
then we'll go on back to our old school
that we left so many times before
and you'll ask for more
and more
i've just begun a new phase
i'm trying these days
i've watched you close
i'm versed in all your ways
i'm just beginning to realize
i'll get you one of these days
but in the end
if it was all pretend
isn't that what friends are for?
but this is real life
it's supposed to be real life
so let's pretend that we're not bored
that we exist and that we're resolved
to real things happening to me
2, 3, 4
11 Always (04:00)
(1, 2, 3, 4)
I should have known with a boy like you
Your middle name is always
I'd always love you
Ahhh, yeah
You let the needle drop
I think that you could do so much better
Those conventions are taking their toll on you
A phantom is disguised
It's horrifying
Right before your eyes
Phantom is inside
I should have known with a boy like you
Your middle name is always
I'd always want you
Ahhh, yeah
A phantom is disguised
It's horrifying
Right before your eyes
The phantom is inside
It's hideous
Right before your eyes
The phantom is watching you
The phantom is watching you, you
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