Rilo Kiley - Execution of all Things 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://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/r/rilo-kiley/execution-of-all-things.shtml
Rilo Kiley
The Execution of All Things
[Saddle Creek; 2002]
Rating: 7.5
It's always great to hear a band known for their so-so records suddenly make
one where everything clicks. Rilo Kiley's self-titled debut was catchy and smart,
but erratic; the follow-up, last year's Take Offs and Landings, came off as
languid and lazily paced, with undistinguished writing. Now the L.A. quartet
has recorded an album for Omaha, Nebraska's Saddle Creek-- home to Bright Eyes
and The Faint, among countless others-- and it surpasses all of their earlier
work: it's a dynamic album with intriguing lyrics, a country/folk shimmer, and
explosive pop moments.
Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett-- singers, guitarists, and incidentally, both grown-up child actors-- front the band and write the material. They're joined by Pierre de Reeder and Jason Boesel on bass and drums, and some eclectic guest musicians (some pedal steel, but also accordion, strings, and even a little vibraphone for color). Almost all of this stuff is used tastefully on the diverse material, and though this is their most complicated production so far, it stays loose enough for sudden explosions and guitar solo outbursts.
Lewis, singing lead on almost every song, is more restrained but more effective than on the earlier albums. She switches between two styles: at times she's blunt and plain-spoken, taking no shit and saying "fuck" a lot, which gets her compared to Liz Phair, everyone's favorite empowered indie rocker; at others, she takes on a quieter, melodic voice, marked by a bit of twang and a twinge of something doubtful-- an emotional edge that can be interpreted a dozen ways; it could hint that she doesn't believe herself, but more likely, that she doesn't think you believe her. This edge enriches her bitter lyrics and helps the ecstatic ones soar.
The words here are descriptive and articulate, but gracefully rendered. Perfect images and phrases litter the verses, some of them upbeat but more of them conflicted, like the scattered confrontations in "Paint's Peeling". Lewis also gets autobiographical in her almost stilted poetry on "And That's How I Choose to Remember It", a calliope-sounding song about her parents that's been cut in three pieces and (somewhat obtrusively) slipped between the main tracks.
Around these frequently bleak lyrics, Lewis and Sennett wrote catchy and energetic music, with perfect hooks and choruses that knock down the walls. "Paint's Peeling" and the title track have both entered "repeat" mode on my disc player, and the lilting strings on "Capturing Moods" are plain addictive. Blake Sennett's turn on the loping "So Long" and the anthemic "Three Hopeful Thoughts" are effective, as well; he isn't a striking singer or, let's face it, as charismatic as Lewis, but he's genuine enough to sell lines like, "I hope that I drive tonight/ Into the last of the great sunrises."
You could call The Execution of All Things a feel-good album, but there's enough going on that it rarely sounds like froth. Aside from a couple of twee missteps-- like the hyper-bouncy keyboards on "My Slumbering Heart"-- the band almost always hits the right tone: they do Americana without the alt-country cliches and cowpoke pacing, and the undercurrent of environmental concern is rich rather than blunt. So when they reach the last track, "Spectacular Views", they've earned a giddily big, vibrant California pop anthem, on which they completely let go and allow Lewis to take in the coast and the stars, screaming, "It's so fucking beautiful!" Who's gonna argue?
-Chris Dahlen, January 13th, 2003
http://music.realbuy.info/B00006LLN5.html
Execution of All Things
An Extremely Well Executed "Execution of All Things"
Wow. That pretty much sums up what I feel about Rilo Kiley's follow-up to the
self-titled EP, "Rilo Kiley," and their first LP, "Take Offs
and Landings."
A trip to Omaha seems to have paid off for Jenny Lewis and the rest of the band,
as their melodies and harmonies have never been more rocking than on this album.
While "Take Offs" was mellow and dreamy for the most part with an
occasional rock-out moment here and there, "The Execution of All Things"
is nothing but the best combination of indie rock, country, and folk I've ever
seen.
Yes, you heard right, folk. Folk songs in the 50's and 60's could very well be compared to Rilo Kiley, as they write about both their own emotions and the emotions of the world with such clarity. At first glance the album seems to start off slow, but once you hit that first gong in "The Good That Won't Come Out," there is no turning back. In fact, if by the title track "The Execution of All Things" you are not completely hooked, maybe intellectual music is not for you. That may sound cruel, but that's how passionate I am about Rilo Kiley. "A Better Son/A Better Daughter" is an anthem which every child can relate to. "But you'll fight and you'll make it through. You fake it if you have to and you'll show up for work with a smile." Sound familiar to anyone, because it sure does to me. Those days you just didn't want to get out of bed, those days your parents kept hounding you. Those depressed times where you kept moving on. We've all had it happen at least once in our lives, and Rilo couldn't put it any better here. Wow.
Forget the reviews saying they tried too hard or that they are sounding a little
too much like Pavement. OC Weekly was way off base. It works. There's not much
else to say, other than it works. An indie rock soon to be classic, pick up
this album. And pick up "Take Offs and Landings" too and you'll see
just how much they have improved themselves vocally and musically within the
span of a year or so. Who knows, maybe we can make mainstream recognize that
there's something other than the mainstream to listen to out there. Rilo Kiley
is a shining example that indie is just so much better than anything mainstream
has to offer. So, once more, buy "The Execution of All Things." You
won't regret it.
Execution of All Things - Rilo Kiley
A Keeper
Take a couple talented songwriters (Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett), a sweet
yet powerful female lead singer (Lewis), throw in a variety of instruments and
even a boy choir (with Bright Eyes singer Conner Oberst), and you've got this
wonderful album. Rilo Kiley's music can be described as country-inspired garage
rock. Their originality makes it difficult to compare their style to more recognizable
bands, but if you had to, you could say there are hints of the Breeders, Liz
Phair and Bettie Serveert, supplemented with twang. Though that description
may sound strange, most of their songs are very catchy. Rilo Kiley is certainly
not one of those "grow-on-you" kinds of acts. And at the same time,
there are some exceptional things going on in their music. As for the lyrics,
they are powerfully written and emotionally charged. There are even some curse
words there, but minimally and well placed. Anger is eminently present in these
songs, however with anticipated redemption. And Jenny Lewis has one of the best
female voices I've heard in any genre. Here's a gem of an album to add to your
collection and pass on to your friends.
Rilo Kiley - Execution of All Things
Well Worth the Wait
After falling in love with their last album, "Take-Offs and Landings,"
I could only hope that their latest effort could be as good. After the first
listen, I knew that this album exceeded my wildest expectations. There are many
catchy songs, but I think my favorite aspect of Rilo Kiley is the way they can
make a song shift from mellow to total rock. It's hard to pick a favorite song
on here, but "Spectacular Views" is incredible, as is the title track
and "Paint's Peeling." If you are a fan at all of "Take-Offs
and Landings" or their previous EP, this album will not disappoint.
http://www.tangmonkey.com/columns/104637240895566.php
Rilo Kiley: The Execution of All Things
rating: 6.1
if you like this you'll like: Bright Eyes, Beachwood Sparks, The Weakerthans
REVIEW: Rilo Kiley: The Execution of All Things
2.27.2003 by Dusty
Three words? Execution of Mediocrity
The Execution of All Things is Rilo Kiley's newest album and their first released on Saddle Creek. While it is an improvement on the Barsuk-released Take Offs and Landings, it is far from a great album. The songs desperately strive to be catchy, but few of the melodies are memorable or ingenious. The quick-paced, acoustic "Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight That Surrounds You" is all build-up and no pay-off, "Capturing Moods" is crippled by an annoying guitar lead and "With Arms Outstretched", with lyrics like "some days are longer than others/ but this day by the lake went too fast", is entirely too sappy.
However, the songs aren't totally responsible for all of Execution's disappointing moments. Mike Mogis should accept some of the blame. Mogis, a Saddle Creek house-producer (think of him as an emo Mannie Fresh), obviously recorded Execution in a state-of-the-art studio, so the fake lo-fi vocal-recording technique used to death throughout the entire album is quick to lose its charm. Jenny Lewis's voice is the main appeal of Rilo Kiley, so adding static to her singing is ridiculous. Maybe it is meant to distract us from the fact that the folks at Saddle Creek are richer than Christ off the allowance money of Tormented Teen America®. Or maybe they assume that sounding shitty on purpose is ironic. Either way, it all feels like the artificial ruggedness of Gap factory-faded jeans.
But Execution has a few highlights. The fourth track, "So Long", has Blake Sennett stepping up to lead vocals and pushing things in a more Beatles-esque direction. His voice is not as strong as Lewis' but it is pleasant enough, reminiscent of Sloan's Jay Ferguson. "Paint's Peeling" and the title track are also good, complete with strong composition and inventive narrative, capitalizing on Lewis' talents. And drummer Jason Boesel's kicks things up a few much-needed notches on many of the more acoustic-guitar-based songs.
The Execution of All Things is the sound of Rilo Kiley exactly hitting their stride sometimes and completely stalling the rest of the time. But they have shown us once how they can improve with time, so their next offering could be their Hotel California. Maybe they'll be signed to Jade Tree by then.
http://www.retardedjimmy.com/archives/000064.html
"The Execution of All Things" - Rilo Kiley
My friend told me to give this band a listen and informed me that it had Jenny
Lewis from The Wizard and Blake Sennet (known better as Blake Soper from the
timeless Salute Your Shorts). I thought "why not?, I could use a laugh."
Then I listened to it and had to eat my words.
As soon as you put the cd in you are treated to the haunting of Jenny Lewis's voice on The Good That Won't Come Out. Of course the lead singer is nothing without the rest of the band. There are some great guitar playing in many of the songs, My Slumbering Heart for example has some pretty good guitar solo's. The drumming seems to always be there to help back up the softer songs with Jenny Lewis's vocals. They use some computers to enhance their music. While this can be bad they seem to pull it off very well in A Better Son/Daughter.
For the most part this cd is good from beginning to end and I don't seem to want to skip many songs just to get to the next. Maybe like 1 or 2. Very few albums are capable of that. I am tired of getting a cd and finding out that only about 3 songs on it are actually good.
If you like Tori Amos and Aimee Mann you deserve to give this cd a try. It really grows on you. It has found a way into my normal rotation of music in my car. I had no idea I would be listening to the love interest in The Wizard music but here I am. Maybe some warp whistles from super mario bros. 3 tied in and it would have been pure gold.
"The Execution of All Things" - Rilo Kiley: 7.5 out of 10 child stars gone musical
Posted by LobsterHarmonica at September 1, 2003 12:27 PM
http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/8109.html
The Execution Of All Things
by Rilo Kiley on Saddle Creek
So your life is a Winona Ryder movie. You wear your clothes like a cutey slacker
post grunge skater kid from mars, or LA or where ever. The organised mess of
your hair just about gives away the fact that you are a little concerned about
its gay abandon. You are the sunshine of a yellow t-shirt. You are, to quote,
so ‘Fucking On’. Welcome to the world you’ve been missing
since you were fourteen, fifteen, sixteen or whenever.
With tunes as solid alt American pop as the radio pillaged single ‘Execution
of All Things’ Rilo Kiley can’t help but tumble into the dum dum
dum di dah guitar strings of your heart. Jenny Lewis sings so sweet, high pitched
yet lo slung almost like a female Connor Oberst. But there again not quite.
That’s the thing about Rilo Kiley. They are like the sweet you remember
loving when you were a kid, but you can’t quite get the taste on your
tongue, unable to recall what it was called. Rilo Kiley could sound a little
like the Breeders. But they don’t. They could sound like The Primitives
circa Crash. But they don’t.
With songs cloud lined with cynicism, as the rebel speech set to an American anthem ‘A better Son/Daughter’, the gloriously harmonious ‘With Arms Outstretched’ (which sounds ever so Bright Eyes, and features the fellow label mate on backing vocals) everything is peachy. That is until band member Blake Sennet takes over the mic. Though not a bad singer, his vocals don’t fit with the rest of the album, making these couple of songs the lull in an otherwise upbeat, sideways smile of a record.
Welcome to the world of Rilo Kiley. Believe me ‘It's so Fucking Beautiful.’
Rating: 4 out of 5 from Author: Sara Lovejoy
http://www.musicbox-online.com/rk-all.html
Rilo Kiley
The Execution of All Things
(Saddle Creek)
First Appeared at The Music Box, October 2003, Volume 10, #10
Written by Michael Karpinski
Seattle... Austin... Detroit.... It seems only a matter of time before every
American city gets its 15 minutes in the indie-rock-hotbed spotlight. So why
the hell not Omaha? And why the hell not now?
After all, Omaha has long been a contributor to the collective culture — spawning such Clonaid-impervious originals as Jack Nicholson, Gerald Ford, Fred Astaire, and Malcolm X; serving as home and muse to black-antic, smart-alec auteur Alexander Payne (Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt); and, most relevant to our present purposes, supplying shelter and a post-office box for Saddle Creek Records — home-away-from-home to Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes, Detroit’s the Faint, and the up-and-coming California quartet Rilo Kiley.
Formed in 1998, Rilo Kiley released its first album (Take Offs and Landings) in 2001, then hit the road as openers for the Breeders, Pedro the Lion, and Superchunk. Take Offs’ tunes were a loosely-strung set of bashful amblers — semi-polished; never precious; and not above building to mini-epiphanies and spontaneous sing-alongs when not indulging in random fits of band-on-a-bender, countrified clatter.
The Execution of All Things, Rilo Kiley’s 2002 follow-up, remains eccentric enough in its instrumentation and arrangements to make room for glockenspiel, "orchestra bells," and "boy choir" (featuring the aforementioned Mr. Oberst), but the overall feel is smarter, sharper, finer, fuller. Newly introduced layers of technical doo-daddery add welcome heft without getting in the way of the songs’ natural sense of momentum — as Spectacular Views, My Slumbering Heart, and the crackling title track well attest. Though Rilo Kiley’s lead-vocal duties are technically split between Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett, it’s Lewis who gets the lion’s-share — her voice is cool, crisp, and Neko Case-esque in the very best sense. Sennett’s pipes almost can’t help but pale by comparison, but he holds his own on the charming So Long, and his consistently supple, understated guitar work positively shimmers, first track to last. Finally, be sure not to miss the genial ether-greeting Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight that Surrounds You — which sounds like nothing so much as a long-lost interlude from Hair — its bittersweet strum and Birkenstock stomp taking a brief, free-love tumble in the ganja-grass. Cue the flower children! Let the sunshine in! Orgify!
At this very moment, some new musical artist or group may be on the verge of breaking out big in a city near you. A Milli-Vanilli cover-band from Atlanta or Dallas? An Arkansas power-pop trio that eschews verse-chorus-verse for hog-calls and xylophone solos? An eco-folk fusion duo from Decatur whose entire canon consists of Have You Ever Seen the Rain?, Who’ll Stop the Rain?, and a goosebump-inducing, call-and-response rendering of the Carpenters’ Rainy Days and Mondays? Well... who can say? Only time will tell.
But, for now: All hail Rilo Kiley! All hail Omaha! 3½ out of 5 stars
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=2045062
Rilo Kiley
Execution Of All Things
THE ROLLING STONE REVIEW
3 stars
California quartet Rilo Kiley is one of countless emerging bands placed in
the slowcore, indie rock musical bins and on The Execution of All Things, their
second full length LP, they make good on the title, deftly tearing down the
labels that constrain them. Led by songwriters and vocalists Jenny Lewis and
Blake Sennett (though Lewis sings on all but two tracks) Rilo use the french
horn, saxophone, vibraphone, pedal steel guitar, glockenspiel, orchestra bells,
cello and violin to infuse their indie rock sound with doses of country, folk
and Fifties pop. Through it all, Lewis wraps her poetics around angular melodies,
and her clear, crystalline vocals carry the band's amalgamation of sounds and
moods home to the listener.
On the acoustic swing of "With Arms Outstretched" Lewis lays down
the ultimatum "If you want me/you better speak up/I won't wait" in
an open-hearted timbre before labelmate and Bright Eyes/Desperacidos frontman
Conor Oberst and the rest of the "boy choir," as they're credited,
provide backing vocals and hand claps that turn the song into a front porch
romp. Several musical spectrums away, "Spectacular View" is the album's
most straightforward rock number and the most gloriously Californian. "There
are no bad words/For the coast today," Lewis sings in the lightest of voices,
before turning on a dime and spitting out her ode to the stars with an almost
ferocious exuberance, "Indifferent but distanced perfectly/ projected endlessly/it's
so fucking beautiful." The title track is a checklist of modern destruction.
"Oh God, come quickly for the execution of all things/Let's start with
the bears and the air and then mountains rivers and streams/Then we'll murder
what matters to you and move on to your neighbors and kids," Lewis chirps
in her girlish, ethereal voice that makes the band's brutal vision all the more
startling.
Rilo's ability to retain the grit of indie rock while diffusing the genre's sometimes chilly irony with emotion is the band's greatest asset. On "The Good That Won't Come Out," Lewis' voice lifts and aches with realization as confronted with a truth she'd rather not admit, "You say I choose sadness/That it never once has chosen me," and then drops back down again with resignation as she deadpans, "Maybe you're right." But nowhere is Rilo's fragile heart more exposed than on "A Better Son/Daughter," where the keyboard and military march drum beat create a modern battle hymn as the singer spurs herself out of depression. "The lows are so extreme/that the good seems fucking cheap/And it teases you for weeks in its absence/But you'll fight and you'll make it through/You'll fake it if you have to," Lewis sings, pushing on to the final declaration, "you'll be happy."
From love to depression to forbearance, there's a ravaged spirit that runs through The Execution of All Things, and Rilo Kiley use all of the American soundscape to express it.
CHRISTINA SARACENO
(September 30, 2002)
http://www.noripcord.co.uk/reviews/R/rilokileyalbum.html
Rilo Kiley
"The Execution Of All Things" (Saddle Creek)
First things first, Rilo Kiley is a band, not an individual. That is a mistake
that seems to happen a lot. The Execution Of All Things, their second full-length,
was originally released last year on Saddle Creek in the U.S., but is seeing
a proper release here with the recent launch of the label's European office.
Rilo Kiley don't fashion themselves on any trends like their labelmates The
Faint or any other band that gets attention these days. Instead, the foursome,
with many guests chipping in, take chapters from Death Cab For Cutie's book
on writing heartfelt love songs for boys who check the new indie release section
each week at their local store and read Magnet and CMJ like their bible. Oddly
enough, they also seem to be the only band on the label not from Omaha, Nebraska
(though they mention the city in the title track and even admit plans to exploit
its music scene). Hailing from Los Angeles (quite an extreme opposite), they
must be the lowest-key, most humble act to ever stumble out of that big cloud
of pollution.
Rilo Kiley's music revolves around the tag team of singer/songwriters Jenny Lewis (who recently appeared on The Postal Service album) and Blake Sennet. This boy/girl combination avoid duets and instead, share the singing and songwriting duties like Lennon and McCartney did. In doing so, it always leaves room to compare and contrast, which is always kind of distracting when listening to records. For instance, how many times have you skipped a track by Kim Gordon because you know that Thurston Moore or Lee Ranaldo will sing the following track much better? Luckily, there aren't polar opposites the way Sonic Youth work, so Lewis and Bennet follow each other with nothing but compliments. Lewis' songs bring that dog and Neko Case to mind, with her constant swap between the sweetness and assertiveness in her tone. Bennet seems to fashion more of a sensitive side a la Elliott Smith, possessing a type of charisma that makes you just want to hug him to feel better. The only disappointment with this union is Bennet's two vocal contributions pale in comparison to Lewis' nine.
As a whole, The Execution Of All Things comes across as one of the strongest indie pop records in recent memory. Containing everything from loved-up folk songs and Superchunky harmonies to unexpected choices in lyrics and a few rays from some sunsoaked country, Rilo Kiley have a total package behind their songwriting abilities. They become very hard not to love and even your best friends, like a longtime, devoted, plush animal. That level of comfort is rare these days. 8/10
Reviewed By Cam Lindsay
June 17th, 2003
http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/54r50.html
Rilo Kiley
The Execution of All Things (Saddle Creek)
By: Alex Steininger
The Execution of All Things is the successor to 2001's Take Offs and Landings,
an airy indie-pop record that melded beautiful melodies with the band's rock
sense. Picking up where Take Offs and Landings left us last, The Execution of
All Things provides us catchy & hook-laden numbers alongside more spacious,
jangle-y nuggets. New to the sound is a darker, more sullen approach, giving
the songs, and the band, more than one dimension to play in.
Mostly due to the band's growth in songwriting - both musically and lyrically
- they seem more apt to take chances, not limiting themselves to indie rock,
extending beyond what the genre will allow. Elements of country and folk, though
not blatantly obvious, are there, and the pop and indie rock, which dominate
the album, seem to appreciate it, feeding off the other styles to help their
own styles sound more interesting and mature.
Able to create a song that can make you think, one that makes you want to jump up and down and sing along, or one that will send shivers down your spine as they nail exactly how you feel, Rilo Kiley's sophomore effort is a winner. A soon-to-be indie rock classic, for sure. I'll give it an A.
http://www.ink19.com/issues/march2003/musicReviews/musicR/riloKiley.html
Rilo Kiley
The Execution of All Things
Saddle Creek
Anyone remember that so-awful-it's-great Nintendo movie The Wizard that starred
Fred Savage? Ever wonder what happened to Jenny Lewis, the girl who played little
Freddie's love interest? Well, she spent 2002 recording one of the best indie
rock albums you're going to hear this year. Say it with me now: Whaaa?!
It's true! Lewis and the rest of her cohorts in Rilo Kiley manage to distill a couple of decades worth of indie rock's finer moments into twelve tracks. It's apparent from the first track, "The Good That Won't Come Out," that the band knows what sources to draw from. The programmed beats percolate under weepy pedal steel and a ratty post-punk guitar before blossoming into an orchestral conclusion. Two songs later a Boards of Canada-styled intro gives way to dual guitar interplay, strings and oscillating synths on "The Execution of All Things." This kitchen-sink aesthetic the band applies to their sound is their greatest strength. The album's only weak point, "Three Hopeful Thoughts," is bland because it relies too much on the guitar-bass-drums generic rock sound.
Lyrically Lewis and co-writer Blake Sennett are sure to please the post-Modest Mouse crowd looking for more songs about long, lonely road trips through winter landscapes. Thankfully Lewis manages to squeeze in a little bit of sunlight on songs like "My Slumbering Hear" and the album closing emo-celebration "Spectacular Views." The latter screams to be included on every mixtape made this summer while at the same time sonically threatening to bludgeon any other upstart emo band into instant irrelevance. It's incredible stuff.
Kind of makes you wonder where the kid who played Fred's little brother from The Wizard is. Somebody find him and give him a guitar and a record contract! Quick!
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A86xsa9cgw238
Are they an indie rock band inspired by country, or a country band influenced by indie rock? Whichever the case may be, The Execution of All Things finds Rilo Kiley establishing a wonderful balance of beautiful indie rock and subtle country. Several guests are on such instruments as French horn, cello, flute, and accordion, while there's also a "boy choir" that includes Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. It all adds brilliantly to Rilo Kiley's passionate and powerful songwriting. "With Arms Outstretched" evokes a country feel in its lyrics, yet has all the sensibility of indie pop. "It's 16 miles to the promised land and I promise you I'm doing the best I can," Jenny Lewis sings. "I visit these mountains with frequency and I stand here with my arms up." You may want to watch out for the unexpected, though infrequent, foul language, but otherwise this strong follow-up to Take-Offs & Landings fits right in with the already respected Saddle Creek roster. — Kenyon Hopkin
http://www.playlouder.com/review/+theexecutionofal/
The Execution Of All Things
Rilo Kiley
This album is wrong. There are 11 tracks listed and 12 on the CD; that's how wrong it is. The album sleeve is a drawing of a rough man having some sort of outer-body experience, which is obviously wrong, and they can't even spell Kylie correctly. Bah!
The songs are pretty, the guitars are mellow, all complimentary and measured; dull, in other words. Okay, so some of the ideas and some of the tunes are passable, but the voice has this infuriating tweeness to it, with the singer coming across like some kind of yelping white trash cretin. On the aptly titled opening track 'The Good That Won't Come Out' it starts well, the rhythm bouncing along like 'Novocaine For The Soul' by Eels, but then they employ that trick where the singer puts more syllables in her sentences than is strictly necessary in an attempt to sound clever, when really it just sounds like somebody putting too many syllables in a sentence to try and sound clever. 'Paint's Peeling' unwittingly half inches an instrumental line from 'Crockett's Theme', which you know is wrong. The title track 'The Execution Of All Things' borrows from a song so ineffectual and forgettable that we've forgotten what it is, and 'A Better Son / Daughter' steals from Yankee Doodle Dandy. I shit you not. Oh, but they say the word "fucking" which is probably some kind of ironic diss on America or something. Give a shit?
Admittedly 'Capturing Moods' is quite an enjoyable waltz, and some of the delivery is a bit Morrissey-ish (pleasing to some, sickening to others) and the final songs 'With Arms Outstretched' and 'Spectacular Views' have their moments, but on the whole this is a turkey. And very very wrong indeed.
Jeremy Allen
reviewed on 03 Jun 2003
http://wake-zine.com/Reviews/rilokileythings.htm
Rilo Kiley, The Execution of All Things
(Saddle Creek Records)
By Michael Delgado
The name Rilo Kiley never really meant anything. It was just a bunch of letters
thrown together to make up two catchy words that sounded band-name good (ala
Jethro Tull). But after five years, the name means something. For anyone who
doesn’t already know, Rilo Kiley is code for great, intelligent music,
delivered with high caliber craftsmanship, and attended with exacting detail.
Rilo Kiley’s latest album is a mature outgrowth of five years spent toiling in the trenches of the difficult music scene, honing their sound, and finally breaking out. Jenny Lewis (vocals, guitar, bass, keys), Blake Sennet (guitar, vocals), Pierre deReeder (bass, guitar), and Jason Boesel (drums) (along with the help of many other talented musicians heard on the record) prove to be utterly creative artists, always asking themselves “Why not?” and not being afraid to answer that question with an open mind. This is a CD filled with unconventional and completely addictive songs. Each is a richly textured, fluffy ball of pop, orchestrated with all manner of instruments (from the band’s typical arsenal of guitars and drums, to the more unique and daring choices of cellos, banjos, flutes, horns, kiddy keyboards and even a saw).
With their clear, impassioned voices, Jenny and Blake lead us through a dozen mystically whimsical songs, often singing in harmony and switching the helm throughout tracks. Blake steps up on two songs (“So Long” and “Three Hopeful Thoughts”) and has never sounded better. Gracefully singing throughout the rest of the CD, Jenny demurely croons through a wide range of styles and moods, jumping from bashful to rambunctious without the faintest sign of effort. The dreamy, symphonic “My Slumbering Heart” takes you through an exciting and bouncy baseball field. Waking up seems like a delight, when only a moment before you were in the moody and haunting place of “Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight that Surrounds You”. “A Better Son/Daughter” is a marching empowerment anthem for the lost and lonely-hearted. This incredible and powerful song reminds the listener to strive on and fight, when the world has done it’s best to do what it seems to do best: come down hard on weary shoulders. Spouting messages of redemption and love, Rilo Kiley is of a rare breed, in a time when the rudest bands with the most suicidal lyrics seem to be holding all the keys to success. The band challenges the standards with honest offerings on life and love that are sweet to swallow…but don’t suspect for a moment that the sugar will result in bellyache. Throughout all that they do, there are deep layers of emotion, honest, dreary cynicism and booms of raucous revelry, ascribing the music to the conflicted feelings that anyone might have.
The rocking, angsty last track “Spectacular View” ends an entirely
spectacular album. The Execution of All Things is filled with harmonious duets,
folky tunes, and total creativity (like the hidden song “And That’s
How I Choose To Remember It”, interestingly delivered in three parts,
attached to either the beginning or end of different tracks on the album). It’s
truly a sensational album, 11 tracks of dynamite. One listen and you’ll
be hooked by the infectious twang and angelic bite.
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/09/25/100706.php
Rilo Kiley: The Execution of All Things
Posted by on September 25, 2002 10:07 AM
Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley makes me act like an over-excited puppy.
Case in point: Upon meeting her following a show at Washington, D.C.'s Black Cat, I stuttered and acted like a complete fool as I asked her to sign a poster.
I never do that.
Then, a few weeks ago, I fought a bitter eBay war to procure an advance copy of Rilo Kiley's latest cd, "The Execution of All Things."
I never do that.
But it seems I'll do just about anything for Rilo Kiley, this sappy sweet team comprised of Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett, the band's dual centerpieces, with Pierre de Reeder on bass and Jason Boesel on drums.
And, maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure they'd do anything for me as well.
I can just tell. It's all right there in the lyrics, for example:
"Last night, where the road had started, and last night, when my hands
were choking you. Last night, when the room and your mood was dipping, and last
night when the ropes were pulling you in.... You said, "Hey, how could
you love me this way?"
What you can't hear from reading that is the beautiful, angry way Lewis' voice
stretches the word "hey" into approximately seven syllables. This
one song, titled "Paint's Peeling", invites more rocking out than
possibly anything else in Rilo Kiley's body of work -- while catchy and melodic,
nothing else of theirs has ever made me want to bang my head...until this song.
And that is a beautiful thing.
Then there's the rousing wake-up call of "A Better Son/Daughter", in which these lines
"your ship may be coming in you're weak but not giving in to the cries
and the wails of the valley below"
bring to mind an inebriated scrum of sweaty, bloody soccer players hugging and
drinking in a pub following their hard-fought season-ending loss.
Granted, if there's one weakness to the band's work, it's the songs where Sennett takes the reins. There's nothing wrong with Blake Sennett's voice; don't get me wrong. The songs are just as beautiful musically and lyrically as everything else -- on his own, Sennett would stand up just fine, no doubt attracting the sort of attention lavished on his indie-rock counterparts.
The problem is slipping Sennett's voice into an album of work that's dominated by Lewis' clear song -- and Sennett just can't compete, though my mother might admonish that this isn't a competition. Compared to Lewis, Sennett seems bland, like a bout of drunken sex without the spice of a good anal fisting.
But what's undeniably about this album is the emotion and effort Rilo Kiley puts into each note -- nothing is done for effect or show or fortune. Even if they occasionally delve into the maudlin, they can't help it...that's just how they are, their earnestness is genuine, and, well, they mean it.
And perhaps most important, on this album Rilo Kiley gives us what's been missing from their previous work -- a campfire song, called "With Arms Outstretched" complete with the requisite handclaps.
"It's sixteen miles to the promised land And I promise you I'm doing the
best I can"
The best they can is pretty damn good.
http://www.chron.org/tools/viewart.php?artid=485
Rilo Kiley’s ‘Execution’ good, possibly last album
Posted 10-17-2002, 18:59
by Scott LeBlanc
It's often said that all musicians want to be actors, and consequently all actors
wish to be musicians. While southern California's Rilo Kiley is fronted by two
former thespians, Jenny Lewis (the girl from the old flick The Wizard, the movie
that introduced the world to Super Mario Brothers 3) and Blake Sennett (TV shows
Salute Your Shorts and Boy Meets World), it is clear that Rilo Kiley exudes
legit musical talent. Their first album, Take Offs and Landings, was very well
received by music critics and won them spots touring with bands like Ozma, Desaparecidos
and Nada Surf. Desaparecidos frontman Conor Oberst (also known as Bright Eyes)
liked his touring partners so much that he lured them to his Omaha-based label,
Saddle Creek Records, to release their second LP The Execution of All Things.
This album is a marked departure from Rilo Kiley's earlier material. Gone are the simple, angst-ridden and angry lyrics. Gone are the shouting and spontaneous outbursts of emotion from Lewis. Gone too are Blake's amazing guitar effects and musical freakouts. Without Jenny's unique vocal stylings, it would be almost impossible to label this a Rilo Kiley album.
Like their earlier material, Rilo Kiley is notoriously bi-polar on their second album. Upbeat sing-alongs like "The Good That Won't Come Out" and "The Execution of All Things" flank darker songs like "Paint's Peeling" and "Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight that Surrounds You". Acoustic guitars replace the multiple effect guitar pedals of the past, allowing the band to explore vastly different styles. "A Better Son/Daughter" combines the elements of Irish folk music and the waltz adapted to Rilo Kiley's mellow rock style.
The sound changes significantly when Sennett takes lead vocals on "Three Hopeful Thoughts," a more traditional Rilo Kiley "rock song" about love and loss, before letting a boy's choir (including the aforementioned Oberst) join Jenny in a sing-along in "With Arms Outstreched." The eleventh track, "Spectacular Views," is probably the finest on the whole album, as the band picks up the tempo, turns up the guitars and lets everything loose before closing with "And That's How I Choose to Remember It," a strange mix of acetone, banjo and saw mixed with Jenny's vocals.
The instrumentation is tighter and more experimental, stepping away from the band's pop-punk roots and moving toward more mature melodies. There aren't any songs as bad as "Go Ahead" or "Bulletproof" on this album, but there also isn't anything as good as "Always" or "Pictures of Success." The two songs that stand out the most on The Execution of All Things, "Paint's Peeling" and "Spectacular Views" are coincidentally the two songs most similar to the old sound. While the lyrics to "The Execution of All Things" suggest big plans for the future: "Bring with you history/and make your hard earned feast/ Then we'll go to Omaha to work and exploit the booming music scene and humility," you can't help but wonder if this is the end of the road for Rilo Kiley. If you want the true Rilo Kiley experience, pick up Take Offs and Landings, pop in your copy of The Wizard (or watch Boy Meets World reruns) and be happy.
Grade: B
Author Scott LeBlanc
http://www.somedaynever.com/newdisplay.cfm?review=78
Rilo Kiley
The Execution Of All Things
Saddle Creek - 10/22/02 A-
Few bands have as much to prove as the recent Omaha additions that make up Rilo Kiley. People immediately assume that a band half-composed of child actors cannot be the real deal, or garner much success without mention of their former careers. Rilo Kiley finds themselves in the awkward position of being well-loved by many 20-somethings for reasons completely unrelated to their music, a fact that the band seems to shy away from in interviews and their press releases. So who exactly is Rilo Kiley, a band that the masses have yet to hear about but the underground is completely abuzz about? Perhaps the best quirky pop band on earth, sugary and rock all at the same time, with one of the best live performances anywhere.
"Execution" is the second installment in their saga, the first being a solid debut on Barsuk called "Take Offs And Landings" that seemed to go without notice by most everyone until recently. The new record pushes Rilo Kiley towards a fuller sound, definitely more lush, but just as sweet and catchy as that first record. I didn't quite know what to make of it at first, the first draft of this review landed the band a B and used words like bland here and there. However, after seeing their live show on Saturday, I went back to the drawing board, pulled back out the record, and gave it a new listen.
There are some lulls here and there, but they are saved by some real gems that stand out and make the record more than good. Jenny Lewis' voice is sweet and sincere, even when she's angry, and Blake Sennet's guitar work has gotten better and better over the past year. Think of a pure pop band with a bit of dancy drumming and a bunch of guitar solos thrown in that would make any head-banger proud. It's an odd combination to say the least, but Rilo Kiley routinely pulls it off without a catch. The title track is among the highlights of the album, as is the country-tinged and extremely long-titled "Hail To Whatever You Found In The Sunlight That Surrounds You."
Somehow, I think the future holds even better records for Rilo Kiley, and plenty of not-to-miss live shows that will become their trademark in the coming years. Their music not only does the talking for them, it screams at anyone within ear shot that likes a good hook and a touch of excellent pop with their rock. Rilo Kiley is the real deal, I'm happy to say, so pick up a copy of "The Execution Of All Things" and put a smile on your face. You deserve it.
Author: Joe - Link This Review
http://www.cornelldailysun.com/articles/6879/
Test Spin: Rilo Kiley
The Execution of All Things
By BEN KUPSTAS
4 stars
Rilo Kiley
The Execution of All Things
(Saddle Creek)
SEE ALSO: Rainer Maria, The Shins
Rilo Kiley is fronted by two mostly unknown once child actors that appeared
on shows like Boy Meets World and Growing Pains. Why is that relevant? Well,
if nothing else, Rilo Kiley provide a more preferable result of Hollywood corruption
and exploitation than, say, those Mickey Mouse Club alumni that offer little
beside their belly buttons. These folks sound so embittered by their sleazy
L.A. hometown on their sophomore breakthrough that the cynical, melancholy lyrics
actually carry some weight, so much so that the opening line of "The Good
That Won't Come Out" -- "Let's get together and talk about the modern
age" -- doesn't even sound twee. And when the same song emerges from the
first three minutes of sparse, cheap-drum-machine-backed lo-fidelity into the
grand orchestral final chorus, replete with bells and saxophone, it doesn't
sound overdone.
Credit is also due to singer Jenny Lewis (she of Golden Girls fame). The false innocence implied by her gently girlish voice always sounds on the verge of breakdown. When Lewis sings "I'm not going back to the assholes that made me, and the perfect display of random acts of hopelessness" on the fantastically poppy "Paint's Peeling," the word "asshole" is more powerful than any curse that is bleeped out from those Top 40 pottymouths.
The title-track introduces some thrift store electronics alongside Slash-style guitar lines (I think of "Sweet Child of Mine" for some reason) and a bubbly synth. It is here that the skillful arrangements of Lewis and singer/guitarist Blake Sennett (he of Boy Meets World fame) comes to full fruition. Sennett steps up to the mic on "So Long" and "Three Hopeful Thoughts," making for a nice change of pace with the twangy, sun-baked pop à la the Shins or Apples in Stereo.
The elegant "Capturing Moods" is perhaps the standout, using strings, keys, and a French horn to cushion Lewis's commanding voice. "A Better Son/Daughter" begins with a lullabye-esque melody and marching drum beat, and breaks into an angry, Celtic-tinged call-to-arms, full of "fucks" and other fricatives. "With Arms Outstretched" guests among others Saddle Creek bud Conor Oberst (a.k.a. Bright Eyes) and delves into his sort of quirky off-key melodicism. The album hasn't a single dud.
I venture to guess that this is an album those Pitchfork elitists probably won't enjoy, but this particular music snob can't get enough of it. Call me corny.
http://www.thestudentunderground.org/article.php3?Issue=41&ArticleID=264
Rilo Kiley - On the Execution of Things
By Elisabeth Donnely
Rilo Kiley is the first band that I’ve genuinely liked in awhile. While I’ve been giving a chance to the various trendy bands of the moment, they seem to lack a certain savoir-faire, missing something in the translation from live show to cd or cd to live show (I’m talking to you, Interpol, and your anemic, poser live performances). Now Rilo Kiley, on the other hand, boast a super solid band with a silly name, a great live show, and an awesome album, The Execution of All Things, which is now out on Saddle Creek records. (You’d probably do best by ordering via www.saddlecreek.com)
Rilo Kiley are a very "indie rock" indie rock band. They write really good, really smart pop songs, and they’ve been brought to life by a crackerjack band fronted by the sweet voice, guitar, and keyboards of Lewis. The lyrics are skewed and witty, written in prose style that’s evocative of Bright Eyes. There’s no real clear example to quote, but I am always singing stuff like, "Sometimes when you’re on, you’re really fucking on and your friends they sing along and they love you" from the anthemic "A Better Son/Daughter," or, "And if you want me you better speak up/ I won’t wait/ So you’d better move fast" from "A Better Son/Daughter." Guitarist Blake Sennett chimes in on three tracks as well, sounding like Elliott Smith.
Musically, they’ve benefited from the influence of Saddle Creek. Organ, accordion, and glockenspiel add depth to the songs. There’s a point in the song "The Good That Won’t Come Out" where all the instruments chime in, and it’s great. You want to sing along. The album has an alluringly creepy circus vibe as well, with the oom-pah-pahs of the accordion and other instruments adding to the songs.
So many bands are hyped to death with gimmicks lately- "I’m from New York! I sound like an 80’s band! I’m punk rawk and Canadian!"- that it’s really refreshing to get Rilo Kiley’s straight up and intriguing pop music. They have a great singer, great lyrics, (the new album seems a bit like a concept album about divorce and the environment if you listen hard) songs that stick in your head, and balls-out, sing along, fist-pumping rock. Their live show is great as well, and they tend to invite people on stage to sing along with "A Better Son/Daughter." And if I gush too much, they’re also the best band ever of former child actors- Lewis was the red-headed star of Troop Beverly Hills, and Sennett was the skinny thug on Boy Meets World. Funny, huh? I really like this album, it hasn’t left my Discman, and I think if you’re missing smart girl indie stuff (like Liz Phair and Helium when they were relevant and right fucking on), you may dig Rilo Kiley quite a bit. Rilo Kiley hangs out in the yard...
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~leader/archive/2002/culture11_5_02/rilo.htm
RILO KILEY
The Execution Of All Things
(Saddle Creek)
Craig Tiede
CD reviewer
Rilo Kiley is further proof that the Saddle Creek Records empire is going
to conquer the world with its fine array of eclectic bands. Rilo Kiley emits
a low-fi indie sound without feeling too contrived because of its lush female
vocals and pawnshop electronics that the band uses to their advantage to create
a convincing Flaming Lips style ambience. There is an obvious folk root to songs
like "Hail To Whatever You Found In The Sunlight That Surrounds You"
and "With Arms Outstretched," but the band seems to build off of these
acoustic confines to a more textured pop approach with extensive atmospherics,
beat boxes, and even strings on "The Execution Of All Things" and
"My Slumbering Heart."
Rilo Kiley’s true distinction hinges upon vocalist Jenny Lewis sweet lullaby
tone that is powerfully affecting in the both bright and dark moods of the songs.
The comparisons to Liz Phair seem fitting considering her vocal style is quite
reminiscent of Exile In Guyville era where Lewis, just like Phair, is not afraid
to toss in a few four letter expletives to show just how she feels on songs
like "A Better Son/Daughter."
The band manages to meld a well-balanced album with quirky electronic pop appeal
(laced with a straightforward indie rock sensibility all iced atop a softer
acoustic folk template. Rilo Kiley was obviously capable of writing a mediocre
indie rock record, but the beauty of The Execution Of All Things is that the
band truly transcended their otherwise minimalist songs into a very cohesive
art concept.
http://www.browndailyherald.com/post/stories.asp?ID=193
The Execution of All Things
Rilo Kiley
If Rilo Kiley were a food, it’d taste delightful. If Rilo Kiley were a girl, she’d be the class pixie everyone had a secret crush on. If the members of Rilo Kiley described themselves in one word, which they do on their website, it’d be “sweeet.” But one doesn’t have to be a wimp to enjoy Rilo Kiley’s sophomore disc, “The Execution of All Things.” It’s a glimmering record fit for everyone from sensitive plumbers to hormone-addled teens.
Though they once sold songs to Dawson’s Creek, all’s forgiven now that the L.A. quartet is on the indie label of the moment, Nebraska’s Saddle Creek (home of Conor Oberst and his many projects). The new production values are evident on the bustling “Hail to Whatever…,” with producer Mike Mogis adding an extra sheen to the group’s already pristine sound, and Rilo Kiley prove they can rock with some sludgy guitars on “My Slumbering Heart.” The group flashes DIY humor on the title track with the best tongue-in-cheek line of the year: “We’ll go to Omaha to work and exploit the booming music scene.”
Waifish lead vocalist Jenny Lewis dominates the record. Her voice alternates between staccato and lilting, reminiscent of Chan Marshall, Carol van Dijk, and Mirah. It assumes perfection on “Paint’s Peeling,” simultaneously breaking hearts and launching hum-alongs with an epic bridge of raw power. The pretty guitar lines suddenly break out into distorted faux-grunge, and all the tension accumulated across the first two and a half minutes is released to cathartic results.
Second vocalist and guitarist Blake Sennet’s two tracks fare well, but they simply aren’t as engaging as Lewis’s. Perhaps the next Kiley album could include some cheesy duets, a la Anniversary? Otherwise, the negatives are limited to the superfluous endings on several tracks. They’re a novelty upon first hearing, but ultimately only break momentum.
Even so, “Execution” is a progression from the pure naiveté
of Kiley’s debut, “Take-Offs & Landings.” Little girl
Jenny even manages to sneak a few “fucks” into her lyrics, and gets
aggressive on several songs. The variety is much appreciated after the summery
but somewhat ditzy “Take-Offs.” With repeated listens, this album
worms its way into the soul. 3.5 STARS (out of 5)
—jason ng
http://www.albany.edu/~kj5613/rilokileyreview.html
Fast becoming the next Seattle, Omaha Nebraska is the current hot spot for
underground alternative rock. In a town more know for their cows and fields
of grain, Omaha is home to a number of up and coming bands on Saddle Creek Records,
the new 'it' label founded in 1993 by a few local music fans looking to release
previously unheard of records. Today, with thanks to part to the Saddle Creek
headquarters, Omaha is a gathering place not only for local bands (such as the
successful Bright Eyes, Desparecidos, and Cursive), but also for others who
are looking to join the tight knit indie-rock community. Rilo Kiley is one of
these bands. Based out of Los Angeles, California Rilo Kiley was formed by Jenny
Lewis, a former childhood actress who started in such memorable films as Troop
Beverly Hills, and The Wizard, and her friends, (also a former child actor),
Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, Jason Boesel. Attracted to the booming music
scene in Omaha, Rilo Kiley headed out in to Nebraska to collaborate with some
of the other Saddle Creek Records artists, including Bright Eyes front man,
Conor Oberst, and to record their sophomore album, The Execution of All Things.
On The Execution of All Things, Rilo Kiley arms themselves with more then just
the typical bass, guitar, drum, and keyboard line up. With the help of banjo,
a steel guitar, a saw, a French horn, and a glockenspiel, and various string
instruments Rilo Kiley intertwines their rocking style with a hefty dose of
country twang, 50's folk and pop rock, to create a totally unique sound that
crosses Rilo Kiley in to a new musical territory that most rock bands would
never venture. But most noticeably is Lewis's voice, which stands out over all
the swirling music around her. Delicate, and ethereal, her words speak of a
sort of mad twist of emotion one would not expect to hear from such a lovely
voice. In the track, titled "A Better Son/Daughter," the band plays
a sort of rocking marching tune as a Lewis belts out the words of a young woman
struggling with depression, "…and sometimes when you're on, you're
really fucking on and your friends they sing along and they love you but the
lows are so extreme that the good seems fucking cheap and it teases you for
weeks in its absence but you'll fight and you'll make it through you'll fake
it if you have to…" In the title track, Lewis continues with her
angry, poetic, and somewhat startling destructive visions, and in that same
sweet, delicate voice sings "Oh god come quickly, for the execution of
all things. Let's start with the bears and the air and then mountains, rivers
and streams. Then we'll murder what matters to you and move on to your neighbors
and kids…." In the most moving song of the album, With Arms Outstretched,
sings of the beauty of a lonely mountain top, "I visit these mountains
with frequency and I stand here with my arms up…this day be the lake went
to fast/ And if you want me you better speak up/ I wont wait/ So you'd better
move fast."
http://www.popzineonline.com/rilokileycdr.htm
Rilo Kiley: The Execution of All Things
reviewed by: Stephen Bronner
rating: 4 PZO Stars
Proving that underground music is much better than the crap you hear on the radio, here is LA’s Rilo Kiley. Rilo Kiley plays self-proclaimed pop songs, but I believe they are anything but. You can say the major difference between the band and other pop acts is actual raw talent. Their music is sincere and thoughtful, unlike the manufactured crap that is forced upon us everyday. This is the band’s second full-length release follow up to 2001’s Take Off’s and Landings.
Honestly every track on this album is enjoyable to listen to. But some exceptional works include “The Good That Won’t Come Out,” the title track “The Execution of All Things,” and “A Better Son/Daughter.” The majority of the tracks on the album are sung by front-woman Jenny Lewis, but there are a few songs sung by guitarist/co-songwriter Blake Sennett.
Listening to the album more and more, Rilo Kiley reminds me of one of those
bands that plays high school dances. You can dance to the music, or you can
just relax while listening to the amazing melodies and calm music. If you listen
to the lyrics, you will hear a well-written and richly crafted story that lies
beneath each of the songs. Listeners can relate to the words, because I am sure
anyone has been through something similar to what the band is trying to say.
They promised me I’d fall in love, well consider me falling.
http://www.rainydawg.com/entertainment/CD_Reviews_Detail.php?ReviewID=15
Rilo Kiley
The Execution of All Things
Calling Rilo Kiley’s latest record a step backward for the band can be
taken as something of a compliment. Their debut record, Takeoffs and Landings,
was a series of happy accidents that made for one of the best records to be
released in my 4 years of college. The songs went on a bit too long, ballads
were a bit too sappy, and somehow it still managed to work splendidly. In an
attempt to avoid the sophomore slump, the reigns seem to be pulled in a bit
here. Most of the tracks are in the 3-4 minute range, and lead singer Jenny
Lewis’ vocals are noticeably more restrained. This would be the makings
of a disaster, if it weren’t for the fact that Rilo Kiley are making some
of the most breathtaking pop records in the business right now. "Capturing
Moods" is classic Kiley, full of meandering guitar lines and heartbreaking
lyrics. "A Better Son/Daughter" paces along on a drum fill and nursery
rhyme vocals for the opening third before an explosive wall-of-sound climax.
It may not be as revelatory as Takeoffs, but the execution of Execution makes
for a fantastic album.
-Adam Michelman
http://www.popculturepress.com/r.html
RILO KILEY
THE EXECUTION OF ALL THINGS (SADDLE CREEK)
With a lo-fi indie ethic woven tightly into a broad sense of pop history, L.A.'s Rilo Kiley sports the exultant sound of Liz Phair fronting Pavement with a vengeance on their amazing sophomore album, The Execution of All Things. Keyboardist/vocalist Jenny Lewis can gearshift from Phair's disaffected anthemics to Aimee Mann's melancholic ache in a heartbeat while cooing lyrics like "I'm not going back to the assholes that made me, and the perfect display of random acts of hopelessness..." ("Paint's Peeling"), and "You say I choose sadness but it never once has chosen me..." ("The Good That Won't Come Out"). Guitarist/vocalist Blake Sennett does a pretty passable approximation of a kinder/gentler Elliott Smith when it's his turn to rock the mike, giving the songs on his watch a decidedly Shins-like veneer. Musically, Rilo Kiley is a study in deliberate dichotomy. Joyously moody and sparsely epic, Rilo Kiley handily finds both ends of any sonic spectrum they choose to explore. There are perfectly balanced moments of great subtlety and appropriate bombast on Execution, sometimes within a single track. The cathartic blurt of "Capturing Moods" begins with a poppy little melody that ultimately gives way to a maelstrom of guitar and synth, all of it held together by Lewis' brittle yet confident vocal, while "A Better Son/Daughter" is a Celtic pop/rock hymn that offers Lewis as a Gen X Sinead O'Connor, detailing the neurotic angst of young adulthood and the dilemma of finally understanding your parents. With lilting vocals, Beatles-to-Elephant-6 melodicism, gentle pedal steel, and baroque rock filigrees, Rilo Kiley has fashioned a totally satisfying album that will appeal to any fan of thoughtful pop. (Brian Baker)
http://www.logo-magazine.com/albums/display.asp?AlbumID=1391
Rilo Kiley
"The Execution Of All Things"
(Saddle Creek)
Released: 02 June 2003
Birthed in Nebraska, America’s most fertile province, Rilo Kiley’s
unique brand of folk-pop lashes together joyful West Coast attitudes, upbeat
melodies and a narrative spliced with spiky, humorous wit. In places it echoes
with the vibrancy of Beachwood Sparks - all breezy sunshine and murmuring vibraphones
- whilst in the striking magnetism of Jenny Lewis there is - in the glib vocal
curls and gleefully clever lyrics - more than a passing resemblance to the doyen
of the American underground, Liz Phair. Although something of an interloper
on the bristly Saddle Creek rostrum (which boasts the needle-in-the-eye terseness
of Bright Eyes, The Good Life and Cursive), ‘The Execution Of Things’
will win many an admirer, offering a different perspective on a label that’s
fast becoming the place to be in 2003.
Matt Brown
http://www.shmat.com/reviews.php?page=detail&rev=23
Rilo Kiley
The Execution Of All Things (CD)
There is an subtle uneasiness that is quite pleasing in Rilo Kiley's music. What could have been presented as standard (if nice and witty) big city indie rock gets treated to 6/8 country time changes, twittering drum machines, and the zingy stylings of singer Jenny Lewis. Formerly on Barsuk Records, their second album The Execution Of All Things out on Saddle Creek is quite a crowd pleaser even if that crowd might be a mixed bunch. The emo rockers will dig songs like "Spectacular Views" while the lo-fi eclectic crowd will get their rocks off on parts of "A Better Son / Daughter" and "The Good That Won't Come Out". The alt-country 'n folk crew will be happy with the twang of stuff like "Hail To Whatever You Found In The Sunlight That Surrounds You" and "With Arms Outstreched". In short, assuming you aren't into trance or electronica, you're bound to find at least one song on this album that tickles your shmatty whiskers.
Shmat wonders if some of the comparisons to Liz Phair are in some part due to Jenny Lewis's occasional pottymouth. At least 4 of the songs contain words that will conspire to keep the FCC gawking in awe whilst hitting the *bleep* button. The bad words aren't a noticeable distraction, however, unless you are happily looking forward to them, which the Shmat confesses he was at times. But there's something really exciting and perhaps vulnerable about a girl with a penchant for expletives who's not singing in a punk thrash band.
The other comparison the Shmat had in mind is to the venerable singerette Joy Ray of Sissybar fame. The cutesy meets carnivalesqe storyteller feel is all there, though Lewis has a little more substance on the lyrics front and tends to rock out a little harder when the band gets it on. Also, speaking of comparisons, check out the E. Smith inflection (complete with breathing pauses in all the right places) that guitarist Blake Sennett can pull off when he contributes vocals on songs like "So Long" and "Three Hopeful Thoughts" . But the similarity to Mr. Miss Misery doesn't detract from the songs, but rather compliments them quite well. Also, Sennett's a kick ass guitar player.
The Shmat is rather happy with this purchase and thinks you will be too. He
has just one question (excuse his ignorance here) ... who is Rilo Kiley named
after?
- review by SHMAT (5.10.03)
http://www.thetoiletonline.com/x-reviews/music/rilokiley.htm
Rilo Kiley
The Execution Of All Things
Label: Saddle Creek Records
Released: 2002
Rating: 4 stars
There is something about Rilo Kiley that automatically puts the listener into
a certain state of admiration. Maybe it is the delicate sound of Jenny Lewis’
voice. Or maybe it is the precise movements of all of the members hands in motion
at the same time. Regardless of who is responsible for this, Rilo Kiley’s
members put together in one room make the perfect team of songwriters. It is
cleary undeniable that this band will make a huge impact on everyone that steps
into its path.
Los Angeles’ Rilo Kiley joined teams with Omaha Nebraska’s Sadde Creek Records to put out this bands second full length album. Many musicians who appear on other Saddle Creek albums appear with Rilo Kiley, making this release almost twice as powerful as it would have been without their presence. Each Saddle Creek release seems to have been given more than 110% and that is why they will continue to put out records that you will continue to love for the rest of your life.
The album starts out with one of the bands most powerful songs, “The
Good That Won’t Come Out”, and continues to glide through a total
of ten more infectious pop songs that are equally impressive. There is not a
dull moment on this album and it never fails to meet its expectation after the
first hit. “The Execution Of All Things” is a must have for any
fans of: Rainer Maria, Sarge, Radiohead, Azure Ray, Blonde Redhead, and Mates
Of States.
- Andy 5
http://www.plan9music.com/9x_review.php?item_id=5687000273
Rilo Kiley: Execution Of All Things
Review by: Matthew W. Smith
Versatile Los Angeles quartet Rilo Kiley unleashes a dizzying array of vocal deliveries, musical styles and smart lyrics on THE EXECUTION OF ALL THINGS. After one record on Barsuk, the group moved on to the Omaha, Nebraska, label Saddle Creek, associated with that city's stalwart acts such as Bright Eyes and The Faint. Mike Mogis, essentially Saddle Creek's in-house producer, produced and played on the album, making it truly L.A. via Omaha. Jenny Lewis' quirky musings are a focal point of the album. She's quite adept at bending and stretching her voice, and it ranges from a half-breathed, half-spoken part on the twangy "The Good That Won't Come Out" to a double-tracked, explosive howl near the end of "Paint's Peeling." Lewis sounds nonchalant one minute ("Then we'll go to Omaha/to work and exploit the booming music scene and humility") and intense the next ("You're weak but not giving in to the cries and the wails of the valley below/your ship may be coming in"), all of which lends an effective unpredictability to the proceedings. Blake Sennett, who co-wrote the songs with Lewis, adds a nice layer of backing vocals to a number of tracks in his lethargic tenor, as well as lead vocals on the dreamy "So Long" and the catchy "Three Hopeful Thoughts." Equally varied is the instrumentation. The opening track has mostly a lilting combination of picked guitar, pedal steel and drums until the last minute or so, at which point chiming orchestra bells and keyboards rush into the mix. Lewis, Sennett and Pierre de Reeder seem to rotate instruments with ease, and each is credited with playing guitar, bass and keys on the album. Jason Boesel's understated drum parts (and touches of orchestra bells) allow the languid vocals and melodic guitar stylings to stay front and center. Producer Mogis ups the eclectic ante by adding steel guitar and glockenspiel. By some stroke of fate rarely seen in central Virginia, Rilo Kiley is playing in or near Richmond TWICE in early November. They'll perform at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg on November 3rd, and at Richmond's 929 Cafe on November 6th (with Rainer Maria). That gives you more than one opportunity to hear live versions of songs from THE EXECUTION OF ALL THINGS, one of the most original and hauntingly beautiful albums you'll hear this year.
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/03/08/cd-griley.php
RILO KILEY
THE EXECUTION OF ALL THINGS
SADDLE CREEK
We used to think that LA had nothing to offer us musically. We spent our days
wishing we had been born in D.C. Or Chicago. Or even some small town in the
Pacific Northwest. That is, until Rilo Kiley came along. With their soft guitars,
nearly naked production, and Jenny Lewis’ bitter and ironic—she
sings ironically! Really, she does!—vocals, the band became LA’s
best kept secret with their 2001 release, Take Offs and Landings. On their new
follow-up album, The Execution of All Things, they attempt to expand their sound
far beyond the bedroom four-track and—for the most part—succeed.
Lead track "The Good That Won’t Come Out" (evidently the lush
long-lost cousin of Grandaddy’s "He’s Simple, He’s Dumb,
He’s the Pilot") launches a fuzzed-out aural invasion that sets in
at around 3:40. Halfway through the album, however, the band makes an ill-fated
attempt at a quirk-pop Pavement sound—or Reinhold Messner-era Ben Folds;
we can’t decide—and rapidly loses focus, drifting uneasily between
indie rock and country, making the occasional stop at Saddle Creek. This confused
formula works—briefly—on "Hail to Whatever You Found in the
Sunlight that Surrounds You," with the distorted riffs and drum kit loops
from the first half of the album replaced by a haunting pedal steel chorus that
flirts in the background with a two-step tempo. By the time the band launches
into their entirely too-emo final track, you’re hearing the fading traces
of a good album that could be excellent. Rilo Kiley would do well to sonically
return to LA, ditching Saddle Creek and Omaha for overpriced drinks at smoke-free
’80s clubs. Until then, we’ll just listen to our version of Execution—tracks
one through four, seven and 10—on our way up the 5.