Photo: Annie Waite
Steaming orgy anyone? Lingering, fast, filthy, grinding, raw, drug-addled, aching, dark, sweaty, deep, fun, sensual, wet, sweet, dirty sex, sex and a bit more naughty nookie? What, again? Rilo Kiley shows - and this tightly-packed Amsterdam gig no exception - have a tendency to encourage entire audiences to practically drop to their knees and helplessly get down ‘n’ dirty in a mass rutting session on the sticky floor. It shouldn’t take any more than that to start a desperate cyber-pelt to the quickest ticket outlets to experience it first-hand - so to speak.
However, for the sake of anyone who’s yet to hear orgasmic yelps of ecstatic praise from, for example, hordes of straight girls freshly “turned” by the legendary Jenny Lewis, here’s a brief explanation. Jenny, a slip of an early thirty-something with a mass of 70s milk carton abduction-victim gingering hair, totters coyly onstage in a slinky black dress, big white spotty bow attached below her chest, her presence enough to watch slobbery complements gush off the walls. But when she opens her mouth, a magnificent, beautiful sonorous voice wafts around, purring out a slow version of trumpety 'It’s a hit'. And as the rest of the classy band (plus the support singers lending their larynxs) subtly start up, Rilo Kiley as a whole package lights up like a big shining major label beacon…success, recognition, at last!
Aye, but there’s the rub. Perhaps it’s because of the increased level of investment (they're now on Warner Bros, whereas Brute Beaute and Saddle Creek released the last two albums), but where their previous LPs were untarnished, lovingly crafted belters of unignorable loveliness, Under the Blacklight sounds more like an album of deliberately experimental, cynically concocted singles, including one too many lazy melodies that wreak of a bit of dumbing down for the mainstream ('Smoke Detector' in particular and '15', despite its thigh-slapping heart being in the right place). Indeed, new song 'Close Call' and a sweet grin aren’t enough to cover up a sell out, even if they’re coming from Luscious Lewis herself, so thank goodness 'Portions for Foxes' with its unforgettable line “talking leads to touching and the touching leads to sex, and then there is no mystery left” was a thankful reminder of a much-admired past Rilo Kiley masterpiece.
'Breakin’ Up' a song from Jenny, and Blake Sennett (her ex, and engaging ‘second fiddle’ in the band), looks on the bright side of love crumbling away, the vibe a jiggly, upbeat and playful admittance that their relationship breakdown was a bummer, but hey-ho, so it goes – and bang, bang on the woodblock goes vixen Jenny. Blake's nervous energy takes a breather for his stint singing the delicious 'Dream World', a dusty slumbering song smoking out the ghost of Fleetwood Mac’s 'Everywhere'. Then straight back to horny times again. First single from Under the Blacklight, 'Monkeymaker' has a knawing guitar refrain you won't be able to shake for days, but where their intentions for a slutty, hard slap-in-the-face song seem on course, the result is, sadly, a bit anaemic. But, there's no denying the buzz Jenny sets off in the crowd when they rev it up, especially as a messy start means they have to start it twice over. 'Dejalo' might appeal to any J-Lo/Nelly Furtado fanatics lingering on the fringes of indie and, live, its Mexicana wandering certainly gets bums wiggling, while Jenny encourages Blake to “Sing B-man!” Aw, sweet.
'Does He Love You?' finishes off the night with much the same sentiment. They're an endearing and childlike bunch, despite drummer Jason and bassist Pierre's gargantuan height, but let's hope all the cash doesn't push their heads too far towards the clouds.
