Rilo Kiley - Take Offs and Landings reviews

a buncha various reviews found online. some love it. some don't. some think it's ok.

as always, if any sites/authors want their review removed from here, just drop a note.

http://wake-zine.com/Reviews/rilokileytakeoffs.htm

Rilo Kiley, Takeoffs and Landings
(Barzuk Records)

By Justin Riner

Unless you're too macho to admit it, or that life altering first love actually worked out, you've felt everything Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennet have written. The difference is however, that you never expressed it quite as well. And as if that weren't enough, it didn’t feel as good- or as right- when it happened as they make it sound.

Produced, recorded and written by themselves, Rilo Kiley (with Pierre de Reeder and Dave Rock filling out the rhythm) present a 13 track record that could easily be one of the best of the year. The sound is flexible genre-wise and generally subtle, but not to the point of boredom. Instead, the amazing sum of it’s parts create a fluid feeling of movement, emotion, and heartbreak. The dynamic mixing (proof- the vocals on “Science vs. Romance”), instrumentation (proof- the guitars of "Waves and Wires"- yes, get the headphones, Blake's guitar is wonderful), musicianship (Reeder and Rock fill all the right spots without trying to play lead), and songwriting that captures what you've been trying to write for the past three years (proof is abundant- "someday we'll meet beyond the limits of who we are," "how do you do it and make it seem effortless," "You let the needle drop, I think you can do so much better," "Don’t go outside and realize you like being free," "I'm ready to g! o"- ok, that one you need to hear to understand) reinforce each other in song arrangement to create the sound of the delicate balance that is love and life.

Most notably of prominence is the voice, usually Lewis in the lead with Sennet providing quiet and beautiful harmonies. Jenny Lewis' voice is comparable to powerhouses Alanis, Deloris, and Joan in stature but with a more volatile sound which reinforces the lyrical thread. She is quiet in reflection, and when she hits her strength, produces an amazing deep rumble that gives chills. Sennet's voice serves a slightly different purpose, but without creating the confusion usually produced by two lead bands. He sounds hushed and hopeful (you have to love "Rest of My Life," a lullaby to unrealized admiration). For lack of a better metaphor, Sennet sounds like a shy and optimistic poet who fully embraces Tennyson’s “Its better to have love and lost...” When the two sing together it makes perfect sense, the mixing of the parts is done well, avoiding blatant vocal parts for a feeling of companionship.

Don't get me wrong about the mood and tempo by the way. "Always" as well as "Wires and Waves," and “Plane Crash in C” are rock songs you will want to turn way up. I also don’t intend to infer that Sennet and Lewis are pained, sad people. They are, in fact, very bright personalities who are aware of love’s complications and the fact that bruises heal.

If nothing else Rilo Kiley seems to represent the little pain of despair going deep to discover the strength that has been buried just as low. At least, that’s what I think.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/r/rilo-kiley/take-offs-and-landings.shtml

Rilo Kiley
Take Offs and Landings
[Barsuk; 2001]
Rating: 4.0
SETTING: Small office in small apartment in small, provincial town.

TIME: Martin Luther King Day. This Year.

AT RISE: Hapless Reviewer (female, about age twenty-six) sits at desk, drinking ill-advised coffee on mostly empty stomach, and quickly filling an ashtray. She stares helplessly at a computer screen and contemplates a pastel-hued CD cover. The sound of sentimental folk-pop plays softly in the background.

HAPLESS REVIEWER (sighs, lights cigarette): Should a band be derided if their music appears in an episode of a heavily scorned teen drama on the WB?

HER CONSCIENCE (enters from stage left, takes a seat in the broken yellow chair in the corner): This again?

HAPLESS REVIEWER: Yeah. So?

HER CONSCIENCE: No, they shouldn't. Otherwise decent bands have appeared on teen dramas before. Remember when the Flaming Lips played on "90210?"

HAPLESS REVIEWER: But what if appearing on a WB soundtrack is the band's single greatest-- though dubious-- claim to fame?

HER CONSCIENCE: Still, that's pretty harsh. (Lights cigarette.) Incidentally, how do you know that?

HAPLESS REVIEWER: I typed their name into a search engine and "Dawson's Creek" showed up.

HER CONSCIENCE: Oh. Is it any good?

HAPLESS REVIEWER: I dunno. A little contrived. Hard to believe they really sound like that naturally-- the girl, in particular. I could see how it might be a guilty pleasure, and I'm guessing the fanbase is predominately female. But personally, I think it's kind of boring, and a little too self-consciously precious for its own good.

HER CONSCIENCE: Are you talking about the show?

HAPLESS REVIEWER: Oh, god, no. The band! Rilo Kiley. From Los Angeles.

HER CONSCIENCE: How does it sound?

HAPLESS REVIEWER: Well, you can hear it for yourself. This is the first song, "Go Ahead." It has that airy, finger-picked folk thing going on. Pretty, I guess, but the most typical chord progression in the world. And the girl-- Jenny Lewis-- sings in that breathy, pouty little girl way favored by far too many female singer/songwriters these days. I hate that. She adds backing harmonies to give herself a little more substance, but it's hard to take someone seriously when they sing, "If you wanna have your cake and eat it, too/ And if you want to have other people watch while you eat it/ Go ahead." It's not quite campy enough to be twee. Like, it's a tad more upbeat than Ida, but less interesting musically.

HER CONSCIENCE: That's not a compliment, is it?

HAPLESS REVIEWER: Not really, no. And I feel sort of bad pointing this out. Rilo Kiley is kind of a new band and all, but this sounds really amateurish. "Pictures of Success" could be a prom band doing Ida, with all the problems that implies. You know, the questionable sound quality, slightly out-of-tune instrumentation (including a completely irrelevant trumpet line at the end), over-articulated vocals, and an unnatural gentleness that makes you feel a little bit embarrassed. (Pause) Jenny Lewis' vocals really drive me crazy.

HER CONSCIENCE: Well, what about this other singer?

HAPLESS REVIEWER: Yeah, that's Blake Sennett. He sounds a lot like Elliott Smith, but not as good. Still, it's an improvement over the girl. Otherwise, this song is fairly dismissable. You know how some bands can take the whole 60s lite-pop sound and subvert it to amusing and/or ironic effect? Not these kids. It's like Muzak! The Beatles-esque business on "Small Figures in a Vast Expanse" isn't so bad, I guess-- I think the guitars sound better there than they usually do. And I actually find that I don't mind Jenny Lewis' vocals so much when they're overdubbed as backing vocals.

HER CONSCIENCE: Have we heard this song before?

HAPLESS REVIEWER: No. It just sounds the same. Except track ten, "Always." It's not a bad song. I like the new wave intro. I like how over-the-top pop it is, and that it's comparatively loud. Reminds me of Velocity Girl, back in the day. And I'm inclined to believe this is the direction Rilo Kiley should take. But still.

HER CONSCIENCE: You're going to make fun of them, aren't you? For that "Dawson's Creek" business... HAPLESS REVIEWER: It's such a temptation. It's not worth it, though. I can't get a good dig in at Rilo Kiley because they're not bad enough to warrant my ire. I'm not offended, just bored. The worst thing I could say is that this is forgettable and any humor I may find in their connection to "Dawson's Creek" will do little more than remind me of who they are.

-Alison Fields, January 23rd, 2002

http://www.fahrenheit128.com/rev_rilokiley_takeoffs.htm

Artist: Rilo Kiley
Album: Take Offs and Landings
Year: 2001

Review by: Bacchanal

If we’re going to talk genres, I would call Take Offs and Landings a refreshing bit of west coast Indie/Pop. Of course genres mean something and nothing to everyone at the same time, so I’ll attempt to go a bit further. Vocalist Jenny Lewis is really the defining element of the Rilo Kiley sound. Since I generally loath female singers, I don’t really have much to compare her to. She has a kind of small voice with maybe a little drawl, but she uses it quite well. Put her voice in a genre?…hmm, maybe country/pop/rock. I hope that is vague enough for you. At least there is no mistaking that the guitar sound on this album is clearly rock. Make that rock with a bit of a classic rock twist. There is plenty of nice gentle clean guitar with some distorted wah wah whammy-ness thrown in for accent and good measure. The drum and bass section doesn’t really stand out to me on this album…which is kind of a good thing. They carry the songs along nicely…sometimes bouncy, sometimes softly and smoothly. A few tracks have some trumpet thrown in, which I think sounds a little obtrusive, but it’s not annoying like ska. Overall the songwriting and lyric writing in particular are quite good on this album. The disk flows nicely from track to track and can be easily enjoyed from start to finish. I really like this CD a lot and wish that music like this would get a little more airplay these days. This album in one word = smooth (that’s lowercase with no exclamation point). This isn’t lounge singing, it’s rock and roll…or was that indie/pop? Rilo Kiley is a little like lablemate Death Cab For Cutie, at least that is what listening to this album puts me in the mood for. If you like DCFC or similar artists, definitely check this album out.

How I would rate this album (1-10):

Artistic style - 7
Production - 7
Instrumental - 7
Lyrics - 7
Overall Score – 7

http://www.ink19.com/issues/august2001/wetInk/musicR/riloKiley.html

Rilo Kiley
Take Offs and Landings
Barsuk
This CD begins so sad and so sweet, you just have to sit back and listen, smile, sigh. It's pop, no apologies made, but it's also definitely indie. The songwriting is straightforward and intelligent, and sometimes a little sarcastic, but it's a quick wit, catching you grinning off guard. There's a little bit of a Throwing Muses/Breeders edge in Jenny Lewis' vocals, but much smoother. At times there's an old school edge to the guitar work, the solo in "Wires And Waves" making me think of the song "Shivers" by The Boys Next Door. It's melodic and moving, and on a hot summer day, it's perfectly refreshing.

http://www.mcviking.org/archive/2001_11.html

November 26, 2001
Take Offs And Landings
Rilo Kiley
Take Offs And Landings

For a few weeks this summer, I was (along with everyone else with any imagination) scared shitless of flying. By nature of having a job and needing to do pesky things like pay my rent, a certain amount of air travel was nonetheless necessary. But all of the reason in the world couldn't keep me from a bit of white-knuckled grasping of the airplane armrests.

And then I saw Rilo Kiley open for Superchunk at the Black Cat, and it was all made clear for me. Here were two bands, both of whom had a suspicious number of songs about fear of flying on their most recent albums. And my over-active imagination raced yet again. Did Rilo Kiley know about the terrorist activity in America when they wrote Take Offs And Landings? Were the concert promoters involved in some sort of vast rock-and-roll conspiracy when they booked a song like "Out On The Wing" with a song like "Plane Crash In C"? It certainly is suggestive, wouldn't you say?

Oh, but about the album -- the phrase "absolutely fucking brilliant" is one that comes to mind. One would truly need to have a heart of stone to have a suicidal vendetta against a country that could produce a band as sweet as Rilo Kiley. I propose that rather then dropping bombs on future terrorist states, we instead drop cassette singles of "Pictures of Success". That should be enough to convince future terrorists not to blow up any more planes. Well, at least not until they made absolutely sure that no members of Rilo Kiley were on board.

As for me, I'm still walking everywhere from now on. Short of someone planting a sneaker bomb in my closet, I figure that's pretty safe. Unfortunately, I'm planning a summer vacation to New Mexico, so I need to get started. Ciao.

Posted by McViking at 11:45 PM

www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/40r25.html

Artist: Rilo Kiley
Album: Take Offs and Landings - BARK19
Publication: In Music We Trust
Reviewed By: Alex Steininger

An indie pop band with spirit, the easy-going sound of Rilo Kiley is airy and light, perfect for a warm summer's eve. A sunny afternoon, driving in your car with the windows down. Or sitting down and putting your head back, relaxing to the vibrant sounds and soothing melodies that intertwine so colorfully.

Take Offs and Landings, originally released on Rilo Records, and soon re-released on Barsuk, is a delicious collection of all the positives indie pop has to offer. The songs have feeling, the vocals inviting, the music tight and enjoyable, and the overall song always manages to make you smile, no matter what you're feeling.

This is a breath-taking, refreshing collection of lovely pop songs that will make you want to have fun; it will make you want to wake up each day, smile, and enjoy life to the fullest. I'll give this an A.

pulse.towerrecords.com/contentStory.asp?contentId=1781

Artist: Rilo Kiley
Album: Take Offs and Landings - BARK19
Publication: Pulse!
Reviewed By: Colin Devenish

In recent years, the once- deep pool of indie rock talent has mostly dried up, with bands breaking up, writing boring records or deciding their true calling all along has been Brazilian jazz and making records that veer ever deeper into obscurity. Into that void steps Rilo Kiley. With Take Offs and Landings, the L.A. quartet succeeds in crafting a homespun record that sidles comfortably from the soothing acoustic strains of "Go Ahead" into the pop perfection of "Wires and Waves," with no interference in between. Using a dulcet tone to deliver lines like "and the bills keep changing colors" as a way to describe the passage of time, singer Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley keep the venerable indie rock songwriting tradition of a few cobbled-together chords and a couple of clever verses burning bright.

www.synthesis.net/music/feature.php?fid=1206

Artist: Rilo Kiley
Album: Take Offs and Landings - BARK19
Publication: Synthesis
Reviewed By: Brian Brophy
Date: 2001-08/14

Rilo Kiley is yet another indie pop band featuring male / female vocal harmonizing. Jenny Lewis' mousy vocals and her habit to overly enunciate words like "automobile" fit the swanky, country-influenced songs on the album. She also, surprisingly, has the ability to belt out lyrics. She switches from a meek drawl to a powerful wail on songs like "Pictures of Success," and she sounds damn right pissed off on "Plane Crash in C" when she belts out, "maybe it's wise / or maybe I'm just stupid for laughing at your jokes." "Always," complete with handclaps, is the most lush and the best track on the album. The songs are basic Beatles-inspired pop, but the lyrics are good, and the melodies brilliant.

http://www.actionmanmagazine.com/article_standard.php?article_type=AUD&article_id=26

Rilo Kiley
Take Offs and Landings
(Barsuk)

- Mike Stiehl

Take Offs and Landings begins with the nearly acoustic folk/western song "Go Ahead." It's a surprisingly rich song that relies on a strong pop melody and the innocent yet wise and weary voice of singer/song writer Jenny Lewis. Lewis's voice carries all of the frustration and resolve of someone who is tired of their significant other's demands and is allowing them to leave so that she can get on with her life. It's typical of the effective song writing on this record which rewards the listener with each additional play.

Like label mates Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley has a strong melodic element to their music, with simple guitar melodies dancing on top of dense walls of bass guitar and drums. Periodic stabs of keyboard, or the occasional guest trumpet, lift these songs above standard indie rock and give them a wonderful warmth and a surprising verve. Stand out tracks like "August" or "Always" show how inventive this band can be. Each has a fabulous melody that you'll find yourself humming long to after the record has finished playing. Yet each simple melody is deceptively complex and composed of several layers of instrumentation. Above it all, Jenny Lewis's voice pleads, harmonizes, and twangs lyrics that are intricate and insightful. The production on the record seems to flatten performances that would be, no doubt, arresting live and indicates that Rilo Kiley would be just as good in a coffee shop doing an acoustic set as they would be playing plugged in at a club.

If Rilo Kiley is guilty of anything, it is, perhaps, writing songs that are too earnest. Listening to this record I felt like I was reading a box full of break up letters that alternated between frustrated acceptance, enlightened resolve, and lingering questions. But, what gives this band their punch is the emotion they pour into their music and the skill with which they tell their sad, lamenting stories.

http://rockbites.org/2001/riloKiley/

15 August 2001

Rilo Kiley, an eclectic indie four piece from the Echo Park community of Los Angeles, released their second album Take Offs And Landings on 31 July for the US on Seattle’s Barsuk Records. The 12 track set (plus two iterregnum instrumentals and an unlisted bonus), self recorded and produced like their first album, follows it by a couple of years.
The band formed in 1998 as an extension of a longer term songwriting partnership between Jenny Lewis (vocals, keyboards, bass) and Blake Sennett (guitars, vocals). Without a thread of connection to a major label Rilo Kiley managed to score a rotation slot on MTV for their debut video (The Frug), inclusion on the soundtrack to the 1998 Christina Ricci film Desert Blue, and opening honors for one of the early Breeders reunion shows.
The songs on Take Offs And Landings—blending acoustic & electric guitars, clear folk-pop vocals, live drums, synths, violin, trumpet, and bass—are gentle but not weak, innocent not naive, quaint not kitsch, poignant not sappy, and amusing without sarcasm. Moreover, the whole set is instantly accessible without becoming trite. Quite a stunt. It all has to do with a lack of angst, a fine musical sensibility, and open eyes, I’d venture.
Tracks on the new album are Go Ahead, Science Vs. Romance, Wires And Waves, Pictures Of Success, August, Bulletproof, Plane Crash In C, Variations On A Theme (Science Vs. Romance), Small Figures In A Vast Expanse, Don’t Deconstruct, Always, We’ll Never Sleep (God Knows We’ll Try), Rest Of My Life, Variations On A Theme (Plane Crash In C); plus the bonus track.
It’s all lovely, and totally refreshing. Three bites out of five.

http://www.macalester.edu/weekly/archive/110901/music2.html

Rilo Kiley proves more goes on in L.A. than big hair, bad music

By ROB van ALSTYNE

Los Angeles isn’t exactly known as a breeding ground for great rock bands. Maybe the weather’s just too nice for people to get all mopey and brooding (always key ingredients for quality rock). Given that fact, the strong debut of L.A. based Rilo Kiley is even more laudable. The recently released Take Offs and Landings (Barsuk) finds the indie-pop quartet clicking on all cylinders, producing a buoyant blend of chiming guitars and cooing vocals. The band-vocalist/keyboardist Jenny Lewis, guitarist/vocalist Blake Sennet, bassist/guitarist Pierre de Reeder and drummer Dave Rock-are alarmingly consistent for being so early into their careers.

The album starts off with the low-key acoustic “Go Ahead,” one of many embittered lyrical numbers that finds Lewis in a confrontational stance. Lews delivers lines like, “If you want to hold your own hand going up that cliff/Or if you want to just hold back because you ain’t up to it/Go ahead be my guest/Go Ahead” in a striking alto with a dash of country twang to it. Other sparse folk numbers pop up sporadically and are always serviceable at worst, but Rilo Kiley truly shines when it shifts into more rocking terrain such as “Science vs. Romance.”

“Science vs. Romance” is the kind of indie-pop song that sounds like everyone could write it (‘Hey, let’s throw in a nice angular guitar part and repeat it a lot!’) but still ends up being instantly memorable. The song stretches out to near the six-minute mark but doesn’t overstay its welcome thanks to some stellar guitar breaks from Sennet and Lewis’ consistently evocative wordplay. Few tunes have more memorable opening lines then, “I used to think if I could realize I’d die then I would be a lot nicer.”

Rilo Kiley does occasionally divert from the straight-up rock format on Take Offs and Landings. The introspective “Don’t Deconstruct” rides a gentle electric keyboard riff supported only by scant brass and violin accompaniment, and stands as one of the highlights of the album. The slower numbers on Take Offs and Landings could almost qualify as quasi-country if they didn’t feature the frenetic guitar of Sennet whose lead work clearly owes more to Television than Hank Williams. One could easily imagine the band garnering accolades from alt. country fans if they threw in a stray banjo or pedal steel to the mix.

The secret ingredient that truly diversifies Take Offs and Landings, however, is Sennet’s voice. The few tracks on which he sings lead vocals (“August,” “Small Figures in a Vast Expanse”) prove that Rilo Kiley is a band with more than one capable singer in the bunch. Sennet’s voice strongly recalls Elliot Smith in its plaintive melancholy quality and proves equally touching.

A lot of bands need a few releases under the belt before they release something as strong as Take Offs and Landings, and Rilo Kiley deserves serious props for getting nearly everything right the first time out of the gate.

Rob van Alstyne is a Junior and the music editor. He normally doesn’t like female-fronted bands because it reminds him of his awkward “Ani Difranco phase” during middle school. He can be contacted at rvanalstyne@macalester.edu. People should also feel free to SPO him gifts if they are so inclined.

http://www.geocities.com/kenyon8/reviews.htm

Rilo Kiley

Take Offs and Landings

Barsuk Records

What a charming record. This LA quartet, fronted by vocalist Jenny Lewis, trades in a brand of quiet, droning pop that many attempt, but few pull off. Add Rilo Kiley to that short list. This is a sweet, enchanting batch of songs performed with subtlety and a steady hand. Much of the lyrical content here fits the title as it chronicles travel of one sort or another. As the chorus of "Pictures of Success" states: "I'm ready to go." So are we, wherever this band wants to lead.

http://www.babysue.com/LMNOP-Reviews-August-01.html

Rilo Kiley - Take Offs and Landings (CD, Barsuk, Pop)
Nice understated soft pop with off-the-cuff female vocals. Neat stuff, which is what we have come to expect from the increasingly influential Barsuk label. The music of Rilo Kiley (that's a band name, not the name of an individual) took several listens to sink in...but the listening time was well spent, as this is one HELL of a rewarding little band...particularly in terms of lyrics. Take Offs and Landings is the band's second full-length (we never heard the first), and it's a definite keeper. The band consists of three gentlemen and one lady. Their approach to pop music isn't quite like anything we've heard. Some elements are familiar...but the overall combination of sounds and ideas is rather unique. "Go Ahead," the opening tune, creeps up on you slowly with its strangely plucked acoustic lines...and gives a good indication of what is to come. Another great tune is "Pictures of Success," a beautiful yet bitter little tune that presents thoughtful contemplation on what matters and what doesn't...when you're dead. We also love the line Your resentment grows 'til you're all alone in the lovely "Plane Crash in C." Simultaneously thought provoking and relaxing, this band does some AMAZING stuff... (Rating: 5)