Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 22 / 2 / 2009

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Review

'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 It
2 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)