Get Up and Over It
Rilo Kiley is dead and it’s time for us all to get over it! Sure, as a group they had an excellent run and an inexplicable penchant for bridging the gap between indie rock and radio-worthy tunes, but the grieving period has lasted way too long. Luckily, frontwoman Jenny Lewis is still here to help us all with that, and her power-pop album The Voyager provides a bevy of upbeat, indie rock anthems to help us get over it all.
The Voyager succeeds tremendously as an album in getting stuck in your head. Jenny Lewis always had a penchant for addictive melodies and clever wordplay, but as a solo unbridled force of indie pop, she is damn near unstoppable. Between the extremely catchy “Just One Of The Guys” or “Love U Forever,” her infectious tunes coupled with solid lead guitar combines the fun top 40 pop with killer electric indie rock. Lewis’ usage of synths on other tracks like “Head Underwater” and title trick “The Voyager” help to keep the album sounding fresh and prevent repetition, while at the same time utilizing the same meaningful but addictive songwriting that characterizes this entire release.
This is what makes The Voyager such a resounding success for Lewis. As an artist, she has what one might characterize as a triple threat of any good musician: a sense of seriousness in her content, coupled with a catchy delivery method and a dynamite sound. For an album some might write off as indie pop without any real consideration, Lewis’ content remains thoughtful and serious in contrast to her carefree delivery.
Arguably the only downfall of Voyager is the lack of an overarching structure to the album. We are handed ten tracks that could all be released as singles, put in an order that makes them flow well but without a clear sense of interconnectedness. This makes listening to this release more than a couple of times a somewhat spineless experience in a sense, even though each track on the album is well done in its own way.
Despite this sole shortcoming, The Voyager is an enjoyable listen for the most part, well crafted by a talented and exceptionally creative songwriter. Rilo Kiley fans need not dismay any longer, as the group’s electric and exciting sound lives on through Jenny Lewis without fail.
Leave a Comment