Lily Allen — Alright, Still

Alright, Still

Regal/EMI

James Simons (CHARTattack)

09/05/2006 1:43pm

Twenty-one-year-old Londoner Lily Allen's shimmery reggae-infused dance-pop makes you feel like you're the prettiest girl in school and who drives the cutest convertible Bug surrounded by all your slightly less gorgeous BFFs. You're young, carefree and — as it says on the ass of your short-shorts — sexy. Or to quote your vanity plate, you're a PRNCSS74, girl! At the same time, Allen's seemingly vacuous and escapist pop confections are filled with bitingly cynical conversational lyrics. "LDN," a horn-y "Tide Is High"-style singalong, describes a sunny London day full of pimps and crack whores. "Knock 'Em Out," with its old-time piano rolls and skittering programmed drums, recalls The Streets' similarly observational accounts of bar room gender wars. It's enough to satisfy you long after you've realized you're actually a balding insurance salesman, alone in a rusty Gremlin.