img src= http://www.chromewaves.net/images/interface/20070912riloKiley.jpg title= Rilo Kiley class= blogPhoto Some of you may have noticed that anytime I've referenced a href= http://www.rilokiley.com target= new title= RK Rilo Kiley's /a new record A href= http://search.insound.com/search/showrelease.jsp?from=90804 p=INS36941 target= new title= Under The Blacklight i Under The Blacklight /i /a in the last little while, it's been in the context of is not a very good record . Always in passing, never with specifics. I've been a Rilo Kiley fan for some time now, so I suppose an explanation is in order. br / br / When I say it's not a good record, it's not a casual remark but the most succinct way to state a considered opinion. While things start out promisingly with Silver Lining , a sleek country-soul gem that could have been a holdover from Jenny Lewis' i Rabbit Fur Coat /i solo outing, that turns out to be the high point and from there, there's only one way to go. The record has been called an homage of sorts to their Los Angeles homebase and while that may be true, it's unfortunate that they've chosen to celebrate the plasticness and vacuousness of the worst LA stereotypes. They veer from style to style, never offering more than a reasonably lifelike facsimile of whatever they're sampling. From the seedy Moneymaker with the BeeGees rip of a chorus through the faux-Latin (by way of Madonna) stylings of Dejalo to the album's lowest point with the lyrically abyssmal statutory rape hoe-down of 15 , this is the sound of a band capable of great things utterly disinterested in even reaching for passable. br / br / Rilo Kiley has gotten where they are largely on the back of Lewis so it's to her that much of the blame falls. While her vocals still sound technically terrific, they lack any of the emotional investment that would convince any but the most casual listener that she actually meant a word she was saying. Which might actually be for the best since a lot of the lyrics here are beyond vapid. i Blacklight /i still succeeds as lightly hooky background music but for anyone who cares to actually listen beyond the surface will find disappointingly little of substance. If it were released as a collection of b-sides or outtakes - which I'd say it sounded like if I were feeling charitable - then it might escape this sort of scrutiny but as an album three years in the making, it's impossible to call it anything but a huge disappointment. br / br / A href= http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/rilokiley/undertheblacklight target= new title= RK @ Metacritic Metacritic /a shows critical response to be pretty well divided and a href= http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=6138 target= neW title= Harp vs Rilo Kiley i Harp /i /a talks to Lewis and Blake Sennett about the LA themes of their new record and their child star pasts (still on that, are we?). br / br / Rilo Kiley are in town next Tuesday night, September 18, and while I'm not going to be in attendance - less because I'm unimpressed with the new record than the fact that I'll be wiped from a href= http://aclfestival.com/default.aspx target= new title= ACL Austin City Limits /a - that's no reason you can't be. Courtesy of Against The Grain, I've got one pair of passes to their show at the Phoenix to give away. To enter, email me at a href= mailto:contests AT chromewaves.net contests AT chromewaves.net /a with I want to see Rilo Kiley in the subject line, your full name in the body and your opinion on i Under The Blacklight /i in simple yea or nay form - though feel free to be loquacious if you so desire. I want to have this taken care of before I leave for Austin so this contest will close at 9PM, EDT, tonight. br / br / strong Video: /strong A href= http://youtube.com/watch?v=mtyhWo8qngk target= new title= The Moneymaker Rilo Kiley - The Moneymaker (YouTube) /a br / strong Video: /strong A href= http://youtube.com/watch?v=h6-W3fCUok8 target= new title= Silver Lining Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining (YouTube) /a br / strong MySpace: /strong A href= http://www.myspace.com/rilokiley target= neW title= Rilo Kiley Rilo Kiley /a br / br / a href= http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?c=2 id=15306 target= new title= Filter vs The New Pornographers i Filter /i /a asks A href= Http://www.thenewpornographers.com target= new title= TNP New Pornographer /a AC Newman about his idea of a perfect Summer. The Pornos play the Phoenix on October 21 with a href= Http://www.emmapollck.com target= new title= Emma Pollock Emma Pollock /a , with whom A href= http://www.aversion.com/bands/interviews.cfm?f_id=378 target= new title= Aversion vs Emma Pollock Aversion /a has an interview. br / br / a href= http://radio3.cbc.ca/blogs/2007/9/Bryson-Rapidly-Weakening target= new title= CBCR3 vs Jim Bryson CBC Radio 3 /a talks to Ottawa's a href= http://www.jimbryson.org/ target= new title= Jim Bryson Jim Bryson /a who, in addition to being a fine singer-songwriter in his own right, is now also the newest A href= Http://www.theweakerthans.org target= new title= Weakerthans Weakerthan /a . He'll join them on the road in support of a href= http://www.amazon.ca/Reunion-Tour-Weakerthans/dp/B000UGG3M8/ref=pd_bbs_1/701-3308447-0287506?ie=UTF8 s=music sr=8-1 target= new title= Reunion Tour i Reunion Tour /i /a , out September 25, including their November 8 show at the Phoenix. br / br / A href= http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2386640 target= new title= DiS vs Kevin Drew Drowned In Sound /a does a phoner with a href= http://www.arts-crafts.ca/kevindrew/ target= new title= Kevin Drew Kevin Drew /a about his new album a href= http://search.insound.com/search/showrelease.jsp?from=90804 p=INS37644 target= new title= Spirit If i Spirit If /i /a , which is out next week but which you can stream in its entirety right now at MuchMusic. Drew plays Lee's Palace on September 27. br / br / strong Stream: /strong A href= http://www.muchmusic.com/music/firstspin/kevindrew/ target= new title= Spirit If Kevin Drew / i Spirit If /i /a br / br / The biggest concert news of the last few days was the announcement of a href= http://www.neilyoung.com target= new title= Neil Young Neil Young's /a Fall tour in support of i Chrome Dreams II /i , out October 20. a href= http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003637643 target= new title= Billboard vs Neil Young i Billboard /i /a has the tracklisting of the album as well as the tour itinerary and naturally, the two dates that stand out the most are November 26 and 27 at Massey Hall in Toronto. If and when anyone hears about ticket on-sale info, please let me know. And a href= http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/purple-words-on-a-grey-background-four-decades-of-neil-young-covers.htm target= neW title= Stylus vs Neil Young Stylus /a has taken on the task of cataloging every Neil Young cover they can find. Apparently counting every grain of sand on the beach wasn't challenging enough for them. br / br / Also just announced though of less OMG-ness, and all happening at Lee's Palace, Los Angeles' A href= http://www.greatnorthernmusic.com/ target= new title= Great Northern Great Northern /a , last here a href= http://www.chromewaves.net/index.php?itemid=2659 title= Chromewaves vs Great Northern during NxNE /a , return on October 17, a href= Http://www.joshrouse.com target= new title= Josh Rouse Josh Rouse /a and a href= http://www.myspace.com/mariataylor target= new title= Maria Taylor Maria Taylor /a stop in on October 30 and on November 23 and 24, it'll host a two-night stand from A href= http://www.thestills.net/ target= new title= The Stills The Stills /a , newly signed to A href= http://www.arts-crafts.ca/ target= new title= A C Arts Crafts /a . br / br / Looking way ahead, A href= Http://www.listentofeist.com Target= new title= Feist Feist /a has a show on February 18 at the Sony Centre (formerly known as the Hummingbird Centre, formerly known as the O'Keefe Centre) with a href= Http://www.greatlakeswimmers.com target= new title= GLS Great Lake Swimmers /a as support. A href= http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20070912_Shes_one_cool_throwback.html target= neW title= Philadelphia Inquirer vs Feist i The Philadelphia Inquirer /i /a has a chat with the headliner, A href= http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/G/Great_Lake_Swimmers/2007/09/12/4489403.html target= neW title= JAM vs GLS JAM /a with the openers. br / br / And because the cosmos demands balance, a couple of show cancellations to report - a href= http://www.thenoisettes.com/ target= new title= Noisettes The Noisettes /a have bailed on their September 19 show at Lee's and a href= http://www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk/ target= new title= Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs /a are no longer playing the Carlu on September 26. br / br / Some final a href= http://www.virginfestival.ca/toronto target= new title= V Fest V Fest /a wrap ups from A href= http://music.aol.ca/article/Festivalution/140/ target= new title= AOL Music Canada vs V Fest AOL Music Canada /a and A href= http://torontoist.com/2007/09/virgin_festival.php target= new title= Torontoist vs V Fest Torontoist /a , both featuring amazing photography and also boasting some stunning pic, this A href= http://www.thenewpollution.net/miraclefortress.html target= new title= New Pollution vs Miracle Fortress New Pollution /a feature on A href= Http://www.myspace.com/miraclefortress target= neW title= Miracle Fortress Miracle Fortress /a . br / br / A href= http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1030632 target= new title= Boston Herald vs Interpol i The Boston Herald /i /a talks to a href= Http://www.interpolnyc.com target= new title= Interpol Interpol /a . br / br / a href= http://www.blogotheque.net/article.php3?id_article=3455 target= new title= Takeaway Shows vs Beirut Take-Away Shows /a offers up a couple of performances from a href= http://www.beirutband.com/ target= new title= Beirut Beirut /a , who will release a href= http://search.insound.com/search/showrelease.jsp?from=90804 p=INS37695 target= new title= Flying Club Cup I The Flying Club Cup /i /a on October 2 and be in town at the Danforth Music Hall that evening. Check out a song from the new record below: br / br / strong MP3: /strong A href= http://www.beirutband.com/a_sunday_smile.mp3 title= A Sunday Smile Beirut - A Sunday Smile /a br / br / And there's a video premiere from another Take-Away favourite, A href= http://www.americanmary.com target= new title= The National The National /a . This one's the del first /del second vid from A href= http://search.insound.com/search/showrelease.jsp?from==90804 p=INS35495 target= new title= Boxer i Boxer /i /a and plays off the wedding band theme of the album's cover art. They're at the Phoenix on October 8. br / br / strong Video: /strong A href= http://www.spinner.com/2007/09/11/video-premiere-the-national-apartment-story/ target= new title= Apartment Story The National - Apartment Story (Spinner) /a br / br / a href= http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/4957/news/music/ryan_adams_preps_ep_label_readies_box_set target= new title= Paste vs Ryan Adams i Paste /i /a reports on forthcoming releases from A href= Http://www.ryan-adams.com target= new title= Ryan Adams Ryan Adams /a , first a seven-track EP due out on October 23 and a five-disc retrospective box set in 2008. Adams is at Massey Hall on September 21. br / br / Geek movie bits - a href= http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/4956/news/film/indiana_jones_iv_name_announced target= new title= Paste vs Indiana Jones i Paste /i /a notes that the fourth Indiana Jones film has been given a name - i Indiana Jones The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull /i - and will be out on May 22 of next year. Also hitting theatres next May (May 2 to be precise) is a href= Http://www.ironmanmovie.com target= new title= Iron Man i Iron Man /i /a , for which there's finally an official trailer. br / br / Strong Trailer: /strong A href= http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/ target= neW title= Iron Man i Iron Man /i /a br / br / And out of left field, A href= http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=43915 target= new title= Sci-Fi vs Robotech SciFi.com /a reports that Tobey Maguire is planning on bringing 80s animated series a href= http://www.robotech.com/ target= new title= Robotech i Robotech /i /a to the big screen, live action style and presumably with himself as Rick Hunter (though everyone knows that Max Sterling was the coolest, of course). ...read full story