LILY ALLEN> It’s Not Me, It’s You

For a twenty-something whose private life has been made very public in the three years following her successful debut Alright, Still, Lily Allen refuses to play it safe on her twelve-track follow up It’s Not Me, It’s You.

Label: CAPITOL
[Rating: 3 STARS]

For a twenty-something whose private life has been made very public in the three years following her successful debut Alright, Still, Lily Allen refuses to play it safe on her twelve-track follow up It’s Not Me, It’s You. Produced by The Bird and The Bee’s Greg Kurstin, INMIY showcases futuristic electro pop melodies that whiz and whir around Allen’s shimmering voice. It’s accessible (“The Fear” has already appeared on an episode of MTV’s The City) and rather radio-friendly apart from her potty mouth, which spews profanities casually. “Not Fair” is a Cock-A-Doodle-Don’t-sounding ditty about a lover who’s got it all right except in the sack, where everything goes frustratingly wrong. “It’s not fair, and I think you’re really mean/Oh, you’re supposed to care, but you never make me scream,” Lily laments. This is Allen at her best: saucy, irreverent and unapologetic. While she pokes fun at this and that (and manages to work “wet patch” into a song), it’s not all for laughs. There are glimpses of maturity, introspection and feeling from London’s beloved gossip girl, as she probes into drug abuse and questions God. When she approaches sentimentality with a straight face, however (“I Could Say,” “Who’d Have Known”), it doesn’t quite work. Fortunately, Allen keeps things lighthearted and danceable, for the most part, and it makes for a good time.