Lily Allen Alright, Still
With her show-biz pedigree (she’s the daughter of the British actor/musician Keith Allen) and a […]
With her show-biz pedigree (she’s the daughter of the British actor/musician Keith Allen) and a whole lotta MySpace love, Lily Allen quickly became the bloggers’ darling long before any of her tracks were domestically released. Fortunately, she’s delivered nicely on the virtual promise. Packed with addictive pop hooks and influences from all across the board (hip-hop, ska, lounge, club), Alright, Still has everything that it takes to succeed in iPodland. But Allen’s lyrics can tend to seem shoehorned (using “People in the city having lunch in the park/I believe that is called al fresco” to rhyme Tesco), the production a bit disposable, and the genre-chasing tiresome. That said, she still croons like a Mockney bird (“Everything’s Wonderful”), throws down the gauntlet (the ex-hatin’, ska-inflected “Smile”), and does the dance-diva thing (“Friday Night”) like no one’s business. At only 21 years old, that’s saying something.