LOS ANGELES, CA- If you missed Lily Allen’s El Rey performance on Wednesday April 25, 2018— you missed an outstanding night of new music off her forthcoming album, No Shame. However, with good luck, she said she’s sticking around a bit longer in Los Angeles and you may just get a second chance to see this little lady dynamite.
You may know the British singer/songwriter Lily Allen from her 2006 breakout hit, Smile, off her Alright, Still album; then again in 2009 with her other US hit, Not Fair, which created quite the buzz around the water cooler. This whimsical, country-infused, upbeat track is about premature ejaculation and women’s sexual frustration. Don’t let the dance-centric tune keep you from truly listening to her explosive words and non-conformist sentiments; AND don’t let Lily’s doll-like angelic face and sweet churned voice lead you to believe she’ll write charming pop love songs. On stage, she’s a tom-boy, wearing “shell suits” and “Kanye” trainers, with a cockney British accent. At the right angle, someone might even consider her an English “Pink” (another rockin singer/songwriter with bleach blonde hair) but you’d be sorely mistaken. Lily Allen beats conventionality.
Perhaps it’s her rebellious childhood as to why Lily didn’t become a pop princess. Before the age of 15, Allen had attended 13 schools and been expelled from a few of them for drinking and smoking. In 2002, she turned to MySpace and became an English indie music sensation. She then caught the eye of a record label on her own merit; one that was not affiliated with her actor-father, Keith Allen and film producer mother, Alison Owen. Once her album streamed across the UK, she even got her own talk show, Lily Allen and Friends. But with the highs, she also experienced the many lows of substance abuse, divorce, miscarriage and bi-polarism. She’s taken her hardships and turned them into lively, rousing and powerful upbeat songs.
Lily Allen’s music is hard to describe, since it’s infused with hints of reggaetone, hip-hop, electro-dance, country, Caribbean and K Pop. The backbone of her songs are almost comical; juxtaposed with synthesizers and bass lines that are bubblegum-ish and pop happy; despite the angst of her lyrics. Her songwriting has great depth, as she sings about self-destruction, loneliness, breakups and love/hate relationships. She seems unafraid of controversial lyrics, where expletives and political subtexts are intermixed and exposed. All the while, her innocent face seems to be a disguise for a true wild child who has gone on many raucous adventures, but has also paid the price of those pursuits. I was lucky to be fresh and wide-eyed when she came on stage, as I knew very little about her life. I simply enjoyed her insurgent attitude, female empowerment and eclectic music.
Lily brought her girlish, open, vulnerable, fearlessness to the El Rey. She explained she was nervous to be back in Los Angeles, where she had to return to her children and estranged ex-husband. It was refreshingly honest, especially when mothers are traditionally “supposed to be” in revelry about their children and mom duties. Simply put, she’s not into labels. It’s this candid talk that fans rave about. She connects with them, not only through her bouncy tunes, but also her sincerity. As a bold storyteller, she definitely let’s you into her inner dialogue and turmoil. It’s as if you’ve been listening to your best friend sing about their daily annoyances…and no subject matter is off limits.
Her set was a perfect balance of new music from her upcoming album, No Shame; mixed in with her smash hits from older albums, Sheezus, It’s Not Me, It’s You and Alright, Still. Instead of exploding on stage, she began with Higher, a more subdued new track with a hip-hop intro and a steady soft beat of water dripping and finger snaps. She sang delicately with agility, “I fight fire with fire,” giving a warning to the listener not to undermine her. Then, Allen rolled into Come On Then, an electro-pop song criticizing herself as a bad mother and wife; which easily transitioned into a cheeky new song, My One. The atmospheric and simple piano chords flowed like a river and then would occasionally burst into drum blasts, as Lily sang about promiscuity with Parisian men and looking for “the one.” Another smooth electronic song, Lost My Mind, had hints of Caribbean steel drums. The tempo changed when Allen returned to an old standard and sang Knock Em Out; a track about being hit on, with her voice taking on a more robust rap. Her stirring and unorthodox music pumps into your senses like an artery from her heart to yours. Most of her songs end abruptly, but then you’re hooked and want more.
My favorites of the evening were her ballads dealing with her alcoholism (Everything Feels Something), her failed marriage (Apples, Family Man, Smile), and lastly— her anger against stereotypes and “the man” (Waste, F You, Cake). The latter tracks, she explicitly called out Trump, while encouraging women to embrace the #MeToo movement and to rise against old female stereotypes. F You is a fabulously fun politically driven song, with kaleidoscope carnival energy; whereas Cake—Allen said “isn’t about man-hating but more about female empowerment aka having your cake and eating it too.”
Now that she had the audience charged up, Allen topped off the night with three encores, i.e. Trigger Banger, The Fear and her smash hit, Not Fair. What’s remarkable is that Lily Allen’s silvery voice is high-pitched, heavenly demure and sometimes matter-the-fact; but her music composition and dynamic lyrics are diverse, full of range and eccentric. It seems paradoxical. She can go from a Metronomy-like electro song with one or two looped notes and vocals like Apples, to frantic, highly arranged instrumentation, like the new track Pushing Up Daisies. PUD brings together cartoonish fantasy effects with warped singing, punchy piano chords, harp stings and unusual yells…all presenting a song about new love. Yet then—Lily’s music can surprise you with a tender song with dulcet tones, written in the perspective of her three year old child, called Three. Again, she is highly critical of her parenting style with an urging passage, “Please don’t go. Stay here with me.”
With her mellifluous music, Lily Allen seems to look at every angle and then bends the conventions of music, tonality, structure and adds a zinger to every song. She brings the unexpected to a very crowded electro-pop scene. However, the only thing you can expect from her is the unexpected. If the world is getting crazier, Lily Allen will make sense of it with a rebel-rousing song and her natural zest and zeal…
Her fourth and current album, No Shame, was released on June 8th, 2018. Presently, Allen is touring and promoting her new tracks. So, catch this free-spirited sonic siren, if you can! As she would advise, “go ahead and smile.” Ok, done. Thanks Lily!
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LIVE CLIPS
Lily Allen @ El Rey 4/25/18. Review and photos coming soon to @BlurredCulture. pic.twitter.com/RmWhK42Y1q
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) May 7, 2018
Lily Allen @ El Rey 4/25/18. Review and photos coming soon to @BlurredCulture. pic.twitter.com/Ht8un9Awai
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) May 7, 2018
Lily Allen @ El Rey 4/25/18. Review and photos coming soon to @BlurredCulture. pic.twitter.com/hClgHqpHQU
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) May 7, 2018
