Review: Lily Allen – Sheezus
Quick facts… Not everyone likes tea. And when you do, not every type of tea is, well your cup of tea. That probably describes Lily Allen really well. Her sound, her look, her voice, her lyrics… But let’s just get this out of the way right now… best you stick to drinking your Milo or warm cup of comforting Horlicks… Or try out tea again because Lily could not give a hoot about what you think of her.
She of course rose to prominence back in 2006 when her debut single Smile reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. After her debut record, Alright, Still, sold over over 2.6 million copies worldwide, she followed it up with It's Not Me, It's You with more of an electropop feel.
Then in 2009 Allen announced that she would be taking a hiatus from musical activities. She opened a fashion rental shop, Lucy in Disguise, with her sister Sarah followed by the 2011 launching of her own record label. Her hiatus was short-lived fortunately as she announced beginning work on her third album late in 2013. And now it’s here. And it’s freakin’ awesome. And cheesy. And cheeky. And ditsy. And Lily Allen! But before the full album was released, Lily warned everybody of what was to come with the release of the singles Hard out here and Air Balloon.
Best tracks… Sheezus, Somewhere only we know, Air Balloon and Our Time.
What others have to say… It's been five years since Lily Allen's last album, a period in which the UK pop diva got married and had kids. But fear not – she's still the same firecracker who turned heads in the mid-'00s with eclectic, post-hip-hop tunes and bullshit-slaying lyrics. The brilliantly titled Sheezus has loads of great punch lines ("I don't give a f*** about your Instagram or your lovely house or your ugly kids," she sings on Insincerely Yours). But Allen also rocks a sisterly warmth: The title track deals honestly with returning to compete with artists she loves, like Gaga and Lorde: "I'm prepared/Not gonna lie, though/I'm kinda scared." Please, girl. www.rollingstone.com
What we have to say… We’re loving our tea thank you very much.
It makes us wanna… “…encourage Lily Allen to become a motivational speaker.”
In her own words… In an interview with shortlist.com, the editor asked Lily about the title track of the album and the mentioning of other female singers’ names in the song… “It’s not supposed to be provocative and it’s not attacking anyone, although it does namecheck a few people. It’s about how girls are pitted against each other, unlike men. I know you had it in the Nineties with Blur versus Oasis, but it’s not the same thing. It’s like ‘Who looks the best?’, ‘You’re getting too old to do this, you shouldn’t be doing that’. There seems to be a moral undertone when women are concerned that doesn’t happen with men, and that’s what that song is about. Stop this now. Feminism. I hate that word because it shouldn’t even be a thing any more. We’re all equal, everyone is equal so why is there even a conversation about feminism? What’s the man version of feminism? There isn’t even a word for it. There’s no reason for it. Menanism. Male-ism. It doesn’t exist.”
See the videos here:
Tracklist:
1. Sheezus
2. L8 CMMR
3. Air Balloon
4. Our Time
5. Insincerely Yours
6. Take My Place
7. As Long as I Got You
8. Url Badman
9. Silver Spoon
10. The Life For Me
11. Hard Out Here
Score… Turn the volume up to 8