Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
by Anthony Strutt
published: 22 / 2 / 2009

Label:
Regal
Format: CD
intro
Torturous second album from the much hyped Lily Allen, the Mockney daughter of actor Keith Allen
'It's Not Me, It's You' is the second album from the Mockney daughter of actor Keith Allen, whose life has been all over the papers since she became a pop star. This new album shows that she has grown musically since her 2006 debut album, 'Alright Still', but, like its predecessor, it is not my bag. 'Everyone's at It' starts off with a Killers-style rock sound, until Lily opens her gob, Quite poppy, it reveals Lily's views on coke and other drugs. 'The Fear' was a number 1 single, and again on it Lil expresses her views. She reads 'The Sun', 'The Mirror', goes shopping, and smokes fags. 'It's Not Fair' has a Lee Hazlewood rhythm, which won me over, even despite her dodgy London accent. A song about her boyfriend's bad attempts to give her sex while she gives him decent blow jobs, '22' is another anthem for young girls. 'I Could Say' is disco-flavoured pop, the sort of thing that the Pet Shop Boys might have produced. On 'Go Back to the Start' Lily Allen sounds like John Cooper Clarke in a race over disco beats, while on 'Never Gonna Happen' she goes to Spain and tells her boy that she is not interested. 'Fuck You' is quite catchy and about Lily meeting someone whom she doesn't like. On 'Who'd Have Known' Lily cuddles up with a boyfriend. 'Chinese' has a decent melodic flow and has Lily eating a Chinese and watching TV. 'Him' is another song about men, while 'He Wasn't There' ends this torture for me and is an attempt at Billie Holiday-style jazz with a London swing attached.
Track Listing:-
1 Everyone's at It2 The Fear
3 Not Fair
4 22
5 I Could Say
6 Back to the Start
7 Never Gonna Happen
8 Fuck You
9 Who'd Have Known
10 Chinese
11 Him
12 He Wasn't There
13 The Fear (Acoustic)
14 22 (Acoustic)
15 Who'd Have Known (Acoustic)
16 He Wasn't There (Acoustic)
17 I Could Say (Acoustic)
18 Womanizer (Acoustic)
19 Mr. Blue Sky
20 The Count (Aka Hervé) And Lily Face The Fear
21 Not Fair (Style of Eye Remix)
22 Fuck You (Annie Nightingale and Far Too Loud Remix)
23 22 (The Big Pink Remix)
reviews |
The Fear (2009) |
![]() |
Pop-friendly first single from Lily Allen's new second album |
Ldn (2006) |
Alright, Still (2006) |
Smile (2006) |
most viewed articles
current edition
Man From Delmonte - InterviewPennyblackmusic - Writers and Photographers' Albums of the Year 2024
Pennyblackmusic - Book of the Year Award 2024
Clive Langer - Interview
Johnnie Johnstone - Interview
Marianne Faithfull - Reflections
Laura Nyro - Profile
Vinyl Stories - Vinyl 2024
Bob Dylan - A Complete Unknown
Cher - The Memoir
most viewed reviews
current edition
Ringo Starr - Look UpDusty Springfield - The BBC Sessions
Pixie Lott - Encino
Emily Burns - Die Happy
Oïmiakon - Comptoir Des Vanites
Rosie Lowe - Lover, Other
Dorie Jackson - Stupid Says Run
Joan Armatrading - How Did This Happen and What Does It Mean?
Unthanks - In Winter
Beabadoobee - This is How The World Moves
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart