So the smart back-chatting Lilly Allen is back with her brand spanking new album Sheezus which has been highly anticipated in the music world.
So the smart back-chatting Lilly Allen is back with her brand spanking new album Sheezus which has been highly anticipated in the music world. She had big shoes to fill after the success of her 2009 It’s Not Me It’s You with her brutal honesty featured in popular tracks such as “Not Fair” in which she ripped apart an ex boyfriend’s…skills shall we say.
Yes Lilly Allen’s skills for brutal honesty and memorable pop songs are why the nation fell in love with the London born singer.
However, now married with two children, Allen has decided to go a different direction on her new album Sheezus with all three momentous figures in her life, playing key roles and similuary on her debut album.
The lyrical flair
Allen gives her songs are more personal touch, talking in honest and affectionate detail about her new husband in (“L8 CMMR”).
Her self consciousness echoes throughout “Close Your Eyes” in ways of feeling sexy in the bedroom after you realize you’ve let yourself go and even, feeling a lack of contentedness despite having started her own loving family which gives reconigtion to her two children; “Life For Me” which features the great line “no energy left in me / the baby might have taken it all”).
She describes her domestic life briefly and sweetly and by the time we get to “As Long as I Got You,” she nails the small details by noting to her new lover that “You never call me a baby / but you refer to me as ‘mine.’”
It’s these small observations like that that give this song the reconigtion it deserves but the fact the entire song is set to a country/ zydeco rave up gives it it’s own “Lily Allen” down to earth charm.
A Breath of Fresh Air
When listening to the music of Lily Allen from the beginning we find she has grown throughout her music from the poppy carefree days of “Smile” and “LDN” through to her relatable domestic issues of love and hurt shown through “Chinese and “Who’d Have Known.”
Allen seems largely pleased to be in her own skin across Sheezus and bereft of the anxieties of her earlier albums, with Sheezus now focuses more on a domestic vibe were Allen is seen to be praising and expounding the virtues of a life full of monogamy and children. A breath of fresh air to other popular pop songs on the music scene.
Yet, Allen still attempts to claw away at some of the broader more humorous issues surrounding our society in songs “Insincerely Yours” and “URL Badman.” Asking the real tough questions over a beat with lyrics “Whatever happened to the real DJs? / ‘cos the chick you paid / Can’t mix for sh*t / She’s looking good with her headphones on / With her Beats By Dre / She’s so legit.”
Showing the more serious tone of this new album, Allen bluntly points out that this girl is specifically wearing Beats By Dre headphones, which says a lot about who she is, and listeners feel in on the joke.
Allen then portrays her takedown of internet commentators on “URL Badman,” writing from the perspective of a male fan who claims that “I don’t troll / I make statements,” and indicates that all of his keyboard sniping is just setting himself up, as “when I’m a big boy I’m going to write for Vice.”
She paints a picture of a net addict who is formed by hype, someone who can’t wait for the “A$AP Kanye xx Remix,” but feels their commenting is enough to provide real discourse and debate in the world.
It’s brutal stuff, but also extremely fun to listen to, as Allen absolutely delights in the satire of it all, summing up her thoughts on the snark purveyors and thinkpiece factories in one rather glorious line: “I don’t like you / I think you’re worthless / I wrote long piece about it / Up on my WordPress.”
All in all in my personal opinion I like the new Lilly Allen album Sheezus. This album is full of her best mix of personal stories and cultural opinions and commentary. Yes Allen is still evolving and growing as a musician and you can hear that throughout her music.
What do you think of the new release? Let us know in the comment section below!
