Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

Remember your one friend? Your best bud. That was, at least until “she” came into the picture. “She” being the girlfriend that took him away and molded him into everything “she” wanted him to become: Well trimmed, less quirky and eccentric and widely successful and liked. Not that these were necessarily bad things; he seemed more mature and well-balanced since he meet her. Everyone else seemed to like him more, but you couldn’t help but miss the old him. Well, your friend was Rilo Kiley, and “she” was popularity, and popularity is (and forever will be) a bitch. On More Adventurous, one-time Saddle Creek-ers, Rilo Kiley have rounded off their jagged edges to make a very “nice” sounding record. On their first album backed by a major label, all the oddities and lo-fi charm of their back catalogue are completely lost on an overly-polished production job. However, most songs are still very pleasant if not all that original. "It’s a Hit" is a sunshiny pop delivery of a scathing review of our current administration. "Ripchord" takes it down a level as a lo-fi folk ditty with Sennett making his sole vocal appearance (which coincidentally I feel is the best track). Finally, "I Never" recalls Motown doowop, giving the album versatility and depth before it dives back into the waves of orchestration that swamp this entire album. So it’s not time to give up on your friend yet. Overall, he’s still a good guy, although probably not your best bud anymore. But who knows maybe they’ll break up? We can only hope. [www.rilokiley.com]