Rilo Kiley Album: “Execution of All Things”

I'm going to try my best to keep my excited ramblings and nonsense to a minimum. Simply put, this album is completely solid. Not to mention having the album for over a year, but to love every song just as much as the first time I heard it -- especially after the heavy rotation it's been getting in my cd player as of late -- is remarkable.

Honestly, I can say that I've never been able to listen to one album as much as I do this one. After about the one-hundredth time I swear death to the CD and from there it collects a good load of dust-age on the CD racks.

But there is something about Rilo Kiley's beats, their sometimes eery, always melodious guitars -- and there is DEFINITELY something about jenny lewis' voice -- something that sounds just as beautiful screaming as it does crooning.

I have all three Rilo Kiley albums, and if you're a poor college student such as I, and even the price of $10 on Amazon freaks you out, and you can only afford one delicious Rilo Kiley album -- then I suggest this one. In MY opinion, after listening to all of their songs, this album seems to have the most amount of my absolute, have-to-listen-to-over-a-hundred-times, amazing songs on it. Stocked-full and ready to go for your listening pleasure.

5 stars, hands down, this shouldn't even be a topic of debate.

Approaching 50, it is easy for me to listen to the sounds I am used to: Dylan, Bowie, The Who, etc. But music must change with the times and Rilo Kiley is the best sound in today's rock I have heard. Sweetly cynical, intelliegent and sexy. Good stuff!

This might be the best record since 'Figure 8' by Elliott Smith, and is definitely the first time in a long time that I felt like I was listening to a band trying to tell me something that mattered. I've gotten a few of their other recordings (Jenny's solo, too) but I'm almost afraid to listen to anything else by them, I want to always love them as much as I do right now, un-jaded and awestruck.

Its' hard to find an album that just sticks with you, especially in the new-era of music. But somehow I still end up going back to 2002s' brilliant little work of tapestry called - "Execution of all Things".

The sound of Rilo Kiley is a merging of sunny-California pop meets southern rock, with a good dosage of cutesy electronics. Jenny Lewis perfectly sways her almost hypnotic voice effortlessly, dipping into folk-style harmony right down to Tori-Amos tranquility and self-reflection. "Paints Peeling" is the perfect pop-rock song, full of buzzing guitar and Lewis' magnetic voice. "A Better son/daugther" is an anthem for anyone who ever felt like they just couldn't meet up to the weighty expectations placed on them.

Which is another plus I find with this band...they play and sing so wholesome. Jenny Lewis is indeed a REAL woman singing about REAL issues that befall everyone of every stature in some way or another. The very essence that makes this album work, is it's soulful take on being honest and straight from the heart. It is kinda depressing to see a really cool, fun-loving band that has fun doing what they do, stay so far in the back.

Saddlecreek has some really good bands that are bound to captivate a handful of listeners who give them the time of day --The Faint and Cursive come to mind. Rilo Kiley are among that class too, taking sub-pop into a whole new direction. By the way, the rumor mill has it, the band is piecing together a new album this year.

This was my first exposure to Rilo Kiley, though I can't exactly remember how I heard about them - actually, I think this album was one Amazon.com recommended. Anyway, I listened to the samples, which sounded good, so on a whim I decided to follow through and get the album. If you're right now thinking, "Maybe this might be good, but I'm not sure, maybe I'll buy it": DO IT! This is a fantastic album, so good in fact I've since bought RK's first album and Jenny Lewis' Rabbit Fur Coat (and have loved both of those, too). My only complaint is that I'm not a big fan of the male vocalist for RK, but since he sings so few songs, it's not a big deal, nor are the songs he sings "bad" or "not good", not at all - regularly I'd probably like them, but it's only that in comparison, the other songs sung by Jenny Lewis are so good.