Alright, Still - Lily Allen (2006)

In late-2005, Lily Allen was slowly rising through the ranks of the UK pop scene due to her popularity on MySpace. Rewind just a few months though and Allen had just signed to Regal Recordings (an imprint of Parlophone Records) where they were unable to grant Allen with much financial support towards her debut album due to the label’s involvement with other new releases, namely Coldplay’s and Gorillaz’. This coupled with a lack of interest from Regal led to Allen putting some of her own music out on MySpace in a duo of mixtapes; a gamble that payed off as she started to gain followers and listeners which eventually led to Regal paying more attention and giving her more creative freedom on the record. Alright, Still achieved a Grammy nomination in 2008 and has since gone three times platinum in the UK, proving to Regal more than anyone that Lily Allen was worth a shot.

Instrumentally, Alright, Still takes clear influence from ska and reggae; songs like ‘Not Big’ and ‘Friend of Mine’ are perfect examples of this: the consistent use of brass, accenting the off-beats through simple guitar hooks and use the snare drum to keep the pace are ska all over. This ska and reggae influence also shines through into the lyricism with the album being a social commentary on Allen’s life, just as ska and reggae is built around the notion of social commentary. Many songs on the album tell stories of troubles Allen has encountered, whether that be with boys in ‘Smile’ or ‘Knock ‘Em Out’ or just the funny side of bad things like in ‘LDN’ or ‘Friday Night’ – either way fans can find themselves relating to the lyrics due to their honesty, just as when ska and reggae were more prevalent people could find themselves relating to the lyrics for the same reasons. Despite the gritty honesty this record showcases, it does not take itself too seriously; for example at the end of ‘Knock ‘Em Out’ Allen starts shouting reasons why the boy in question cannot have her number, examples such as “I have syphilis” and “my house is on fire” are just a couple of the rather amusing takes with plenty of others throughout the track. Another point worth mentioning about Alright, Still is the vast range of emotions Allen manages to cram into just 37 minutes of album and how effectively she does so – the raw aggression on ‘Friday Night’, the heartbreak on ‘Littlest Things’, the vindication on ‘Not Big’ as well as consistent mentions of her deteriorated mental health, all add to the honest and personable nature of the record.

The stand-out tracks on this record for me are ‘Smile’ and ‘Friend of Mine’ – notable mentions go to ‘LDN’ as it is a mid-2000s classic and ‘Not Big’ due to its humorous nature and bouncy ska beat. ‘Smile’ was the first single released off Alright, Still and much alike ‘LDN’ is a classic and deserve to be put atop a pile of quintessential 2000s pop songs; I feel ‘Smile’ is the song that perfectly represents the whole album as it contains the elements of ska, honest lyrics and Lily Allen’s signature combination of tuneful talking. ‘Friend of Mine’ is the penultimate track on the album and, like ‘Smile’, is what I can only describe as a Lily Allen song – the reggae beat means that it slower than some of the tracks on the album so acts as a nice change of pace. I am particularly intrigued by the more intricate vocal melody in the chorus and her backing vocals, the high-pitched and soft nature of the melody juxtaposes the potentially aggressive lyrics in which Allen talks about one of her ‘friends’ not being very good to her. I believe people, including myself, often forget that Lily Allen has more to offer than just a few hit singles, a lot more in fact, and I believe this album is a prime example of what is forgotten by some. I would highly recommend this album to anyone who will listen and whether you give it a listen because you believe I am talking sense or just for nostalgic purposes, I cannot imagine Alright, Still leaving you disappointed.