Album Review

Lily Allen – It’s Not Me It’s You

• 13th Mar 2009

You may have witnessed Brit pop sensation Lily Allen topless on holiday, attacking paparazzi or falling over drunk and disorderly at various events.

Some would say she is more famous for being a trainwreck than a musician, a statement she echoed herself. But when it comes to her music, Lily is far from a trainwreck, displayed in her latest album release.

‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ is the second album from 23-year-old Lily Allen who first garnered attention back in 2006 with her debut ‘Alright, Still’. A tongue-in-cheek take on society, her first album was bubbly, energetic and cheeky with break-out hits like ‘Smile’ and ‘LDN’.

A natural progression from her debut, ‘It’s Not Me..’ has a more mature, refined sound. “We decided to try and make bigger sounding, more ethereal, real songs,” Allen remarked in a statement. After being in the public eye for three years, Lily has grown up before us and this is reflected on the record.

The album opens with a bang with ‘Everyone’s At It’. A wonderful, boisterous and energetic track, it’s the perfect opening to the album. The song, written about the increase of casual drug use is full of heavy bass, piano and is produced to perfection.

Following on from track one comes the lead single of the album, ‘The Fear’. A smash-hit at the start of 2009, this UK number one is possibly Lily’s best single to date, which debates the world of celebrity culture. Both tracks are catchy, clever and memorable, setting the bar high for the rest of the record.

‘He Wasn’t There’ is a cute and clever track which stemmed from a letter to her father, the sample used in the song sounds like a 1930’s showtune, which is particularly enjoyable.

’22’ details a generalisation of women who are getting older, “not doing anything with their lives and it’s too late” Allen explains.

Every track on the album stands out in its own signature way, most songs being written by Lily herself and producer Greg Kurstin. ‘Him’ is a witty and simple song questioning God, whereas ‘Fuck You’ is an angrily-written yet upbeat melody which is said to have been written about George Bush.

The album contains one or two questionable and forgetful tracks, one being the catchy yet boring ‘Chinese’ but overall ‘It’s Not Me..’ delivers twelve upbeat, tongue-in-cheek tunes written with catchy lyrics full of attitude and sass.

Allen makes it a point to make every song meaningful and carrying a message, usually her take on society and the people around her, which is very refreshing.

Whether you love to hate her or hate to love her, Lily has serious staying power and with her latest delivery has sealed her place as being one of the brightest, most memorable stars out there, with MTV calling her ‘perfectly imperfect’ and ‘probably the most interesting pop star ever created’.