After her single "Smile" hit number one on the British charts last July, Lily Allen became the subject of close attention from MP3 bloggers and pop cognoscenti of all stripes this side of the Atlantic. Her album Alright, Still is finally, officially, available to the American public. It's clear why those in the know have had her short-listed for "Next Big Thing" status these past seven months.
In the album's best songs, the breezy, Two-Tone-esque backing tracks balance well with Allen's pleasantly vitriolic lyrics. Unfortunately, this delicate balance is only wholly achieved on a few stand-out tracks. Despite its inconsistencies, the bulk of Alright, Still is original and catchy enough to make it an impressive debut.
Lead-off track and British number-one summer jam "Smile" will impress ska trainspotters with its use of a sample by Clement Dodd and Jackie Mittoo, two Jamaican musical legends. Its lyrical celebration of post-breakup schadenfreude will appeal to other listeners, too. The soulful ska backdrop is a perfect foil for Allen's stinging words: "At first when I see you cry, / Yeah it makes smile." Catchy and compelling, "Smile" is Alright, Still's first highlight and perhaps highest achievement.
"LDN," another track already released as a single overseas, is similarly based on a trad-ska groove. This one narrates a bicycle ride through London with keen observations about picnics, "dapper fellows" and teenage muggers. As Allen sings, regarding London's apparent seedy underbelly, "When you look with your eyes everything looks nice / But if you look twice you can see it's all lies."
Allen's acid tongue serves her well on other tracks, including "Not Big" and "Knock 'em Out." "Not Big" is addressed to an anonymous ex-lover, focusing on his anatomical shortcomings and, shall we say, performance issues. Allen really hits him where it hurts in the chorus, singing "I'm gonna tell the world that you're rubbish in bed now / And that you're small in the game."
"Knock 'em Out" provides the long-awaited female response to the cruising-for-chicks idiom that The Streets and The Arctic Monkeys seem to have perfected. It offers advice on how to avoid unwelcome advances at "the pub," such as claiming to be pregnant or infected with venereal disease.
Alright, Still is, unfortunately, not without its forgettable tracks, which seem to be concentrated in the album's second half. "Take What You Take" is as close as you can get to a formulaic Top 40 pop song while still dropping a few F-bombs. "Alfie" has such an annoying musical accompaniment
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