Rilo Kiley - 'Under the Blacklight'

A lifetime spent working in the corporate world has left my father, whom I love very, very much, with an affinity for catch phrases. “Trust no one” and “Attack, attack, attack” have always been popular. His new one is “May 11, 2008,” which just so happens to be my scheduled graduation date. It is often repeated to me with extreme assertiveness. Every day. Another one is “Get focused,” which is just what he would say if he could arrange an inspirational power chat with the members of Rilo Kiley to discuss what went wrong with their new album, Under the Blacklight.

About a year-and-a-half after solo joints from lead singers Jenny Lewis (the overrated Rabbit Fur Coat) and Blake “Joey the Rat” Sennett (the mostly ignored Sun, Sun, Sun) were released, Under the Black Light arrives to bring everybody back together, only to push ‘em away with tepid slow jams, ’70s Fleetwood Mac-ripped riffs and really annoying lyrics about sex.

Up until now, Rilo Kiley has had an interesting dynamic: Lewis brings the sultry vocals and lyrics, Sennett provides the ridiculously awesome guitar solos and occasional cute tune about being sad and the rest of the band country rocks its way towards euphoria. But 2006 brought Lewis solo recognition, and that elevation gave her the confidence to write most of BlacklightRabbit Fur CoatMore Adventurous. before even presenting it to the band. The result exists more like a sequel to than it is to Rilo Kiley’s last album,

Lewis has always been essential to the Rilo Kiley sound, but now she is the very thing that damns it. Her voice is still great, but her songwriting has become obsessed with trite tales of illicit affairs. “15” tells the story of a teenage girl hooking up with an older man, and its sexual content is breathtakingly stupid. The same goes for “Smoke Detector,” a ’60s garage rock tune about a dance move and “smoking” a man in bed. It’s not particularly interesting or catchy. But at least it doesn’t hurt as bad as the pseudo-rapping of “Dejalo.”

The worst song of this batch, however, is lead single “The Moneymaker.” It burns the soul more because it is so terribly close to being incredible. Featuring excellent pounding drums from Jason Boesel and unquestionably the most deliciously funky bass line from any R.K. song ever, “The Moneymaker” is undone only because of Lewis’ repetitive lyrics. Utilizing the word “moneymaker” roughly 955 times [Note: I am not good at math], the song blueballs listeners with its inane monotony. But man is that bass line sweet.

There is a silver lining here, though, and I do mean that literally. Album opener “Silver Lining” delivers some of Lewis’ best countrified soul, proving that maybe she had a good idea to go with all that horrible execution. There’s also the dreamy instrumentation of “Close Call” and “Under the Black Light” to enchant. And of course, the always mildly reliable Sennett delivers a similarly ethereal standout with “Dreamworld.”

If anything, Under the Blacklight proves that Lewis and Sennett need each other as songwriting partners. Maybe she’ll get him to hate himself less, and he’ll give her some slick guitar parts to go with her adultery tirades, a la “Does He Love You?.” Then, maybe Rilo Kiley could stop pumping out Fleetwood Mac sewage and instead raise heck like Janis Joplin. Father would be proud.