On the Move
Rilo Kiley sets out on their own with their latest album
2004-09-30
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Multi-tasking is a necessity in a fast-paced society, and over the past two years,
the members of Rilo Kiley have become well aware of that. Since the release of
The Execution of All Things, members of the group have taken on a variety
of different ventures - both creative and commercial. But even with their attentions
divided, Rilo Kiley has managed to preserve its solidarity. After getting lost
in the rudimentary industrial maze behind San Francsico's Bottom of the Hill,
the Synthesis had the chance to speak in-person with Rilo Kiley's vocalist
/ guitarist / songwriter Jenny Lewis about her band's latest album.
More Adventurous, the Los Angeles-based group's third full-length, lives up to its name in more ways than one. Even before listening, there is one noticeable difference from 2002's, The Execution of All Things; the band has left Omaha, Nebraska's Saddle Creek to release More Adventurous, on their own label, Brute/Beaute, a Warner Brothers imprint.
"I think we always remained independent so we could have ultimate control over the stuff that we do, and I think we felt with starting our own label, we would have even more control over the future of this record," Lewis says. Though under the umbrella of a major corporation may seem to negate the group's independence, Lewis seems happy to have greater resources at Rilo Kiley's disposal.
"It's an imprint on Warner Brothers, so we have major distribution, and at some point it will switch over so we can use some of their marketing and radio stuff," she continues. "It's exciting to us to have control, but also have access to a different way of putting out records."
Lewis maintains that she was not worried her band would necessarily lose control of its career by staying with Saddle Creek. Instead, the decision to move on was prompted by differences of opinion.
"Those guys are our friends, and they like to do things in a certain way, and their ideology doesn't necessarily link up with our ideology," Lewis says carefully. "We have different ideas about how to put out records and what to do at a certain point in your band's life. I think we were both thinking that it would be better to do something other than what we had been doing."
Parting ways with a label Rilo Kiley still has strong ties to wasn't an easy decision, but Lewis gives every indication that she believes it was the right one. The songwriter says that she hopes to expand Brute/Beaute in the future to bring on "bands that we've toured with, and are friends with, that don't have a place to put out their music." One such act Lewis hopes to bring on is Vagtown 2000, who opened that night's show at Bottom of the Hill, and whose songwriter is Lewis' close friend.
"Hopefully we can set out and destroy their careers like we will ours," Lewis says with a quiet laugh.
Musically, More Adventurous is perhaps Rilo Kiley's most extroverted work. Bold and lush, it's subtle indie pop on a grand, sparkling scale. While it wasn't the band's intent to create a towering pop opus, Lewis says it was a combination of things that steered Rilo Kiley in that direction. She credits Bright Eyes' Nate Walcott's string arrangements as playing a big role in rounding out the the album's sound, saying, "I think with Nate's strings, it was pretty shocking, because we would bring in these songs that were kind of bare bones. I think [his string arrangements] shaped the songs."
Also, she points to the maturation of the album's producer Mike Mogis, who has also worked with Bright Eyes in the past. "He's sort of expanding his horizons and learning more about recording and feeling more adventurous, I guess, with horns and different ideas," Lewis says of the producer.
In the time between The Execution of All Things and More Adventurous, the members of Rilo Kiley took time off from playing with one another to pursue other projects. Rilo Kiley's co-songwriter and part-time vocalist Blake Sennett made his own album under the moniker The Elected, drummer Jason Boesel recorded with Bright Eyes and Lewis herself appeared on The Postal Service's Give Up, which was a runaway success. Lewis says that this time apart was influential to the outcome of More Adventurous.
"I think doing all of those things allowed us freedom, personally, from each other and artistic freedom," Lewis says. "I think at the end of all of those projects, we looked at each other and were excited to make music again - the four of us. It made us grateful to play with each other, and also, we learned from all the people we played with.
"For me, just being able to learn Ben Gibbard's guitar parts and harmonies, and just to be in a band with someone who's such a professional and such an amazing talent," Lewis continues, speaking of The Postal Service co-founder and Death Cab for Cutie frontman. "A lot of the people I know shouldn't be making music, but they are, but Ben Gibbard should be. He's the real deal."
Rilo Kiley's other projects also led to the addition of a new band member, Mike Bloom, who backed Sennett in The Elected, which, according to Lewis, was "some sort of Rilo Kiley boot camp" for Bloom. She believes he has been invaluable in adapting the songs from More Adventurous for the live setting. Lewis will spend more time pursuing other projects in the future, reporting that she will be making a record for Conor Oberst's Team Love label.
Though it must seem like a frantic time for Rilo Kiley, Lewis seems remarkably poised and excited about future possibilities; perhaps it's because the heart of her group remains constant. On More Adventurous, Sennett and Lewis are as strong a songwriting pair as ever. The duo has written music together since the time they met seven years ago, and that familiarity and comfortability translates into their songwriting process.
"Some [songs] were written together, some were written on our own, but we end up collaborating on everything in the end," she says. "We edit each other's songs. Blake isn't afraid to say, 'this sucks, Lewis.'"
When asked if she can say the same to Sennett, Lewis answers with a coy smile, "Oh yeah."
More Adventurous, the Los Angeles-based group's third full-length, lives up to its name in more ways than one. Even before listening, there is one noticeable difference from 2002's, The Execution of All Things; the band has left Omaha, Nebraska's Saddle Creek to release More Adventurous, on their own label, Brute/Beaute, a Warner Brothers imprint.
"I think we always remained independent so we could have ultimate control over the stuff that we do, and I think we felt with starting our own label, we would have even more control over the future of this record," Lewis says. Though under the umbrella of a major corporation may seem to negate the group's independence, Lewis seems happy to have greater resources at Rilo Kiley's disposal.
"It's an imprint on Warner Brothers, so we have major distribution, and at some point it will switch over so we can use some of their marketing and radio stuff," she continues. "It's exciting to us to have control, but also have access to a different way of putting out records."
Lewis maintains that she was not worried her band would necessarily lose control of its career by staying with Saddle Creek. Instead, the decision to move on was prompted by differences of opinion.
"Those guys are our friends, and they like to do things in a certain way, and their ideology doesn't necessarily link up with our ideology," Lewis says carefully. "We have different ideas about how to put out records and what to do at a certain point in your band's life. I think we were both thinking that it would be better to do something other than what we had been doing."
Parting ways with a label Rilo Kiley still has strong ties to wasn't an easy decision, but Lewis gives every indication that she believes it was the right one. The songwriter says that she hopes to expand Brute/Beaute in the future to bring on "bands that we've toured with, and are friends with, that don't have a place to put out their music." One such act Lewis hopes to bring on is Vagtown 2000, who opened that night's show at Bottom of the Hill, and whose songwriter is Lewis' close friend.
"Hopefully we can set out and destroy their careers like we will ours," Lewis says with a quiet laugh.
Musically, More Adventurous is perhaps Rilo Kiley's most extroverted work. Bold and lush, it's subtle indie pop on a grand, sparkling scale. While it wasn't the band's intent to create a towering pop opus, Lewis says it was a combination of things that steered Rilo Kiley in that direction. She credits Bright Eyes' Nate Walcott's string arrangements as playing a big role in rounding out the the album's sound, saying, "I think with Nate's strings, it was pretty shocking, because we would bring in these songs that were kind of bare bones. I think [his string arrangements] shaped the songs."
Also, she points to the maturation of the album's producer Mike Mogis, who has also worked with Bright Eyes in the past. "He's sort of expanding his horizons and learning more about recording and feeling more adventurous, I guess, with horns and different ideas," Lewis says of the producer.
In the time between The Execution of All Things and More Adventurous, the members of Rilo Kiley took time off from playing with one another to pursue other projects. Rilo Kiley's co-songwriter and part-time vocalist Blake Sennett made his own album under the moniker The Elected, drummer Jason Boesel recorded with Bright Eyes and Lewis herself appeared on The Postal Service's Give Up, which was a runaway success. Lewis says that this time apart was influential to the outcome of More Adventurous.
"I think doing all of those things allowed us freedom, personally, from each other and artistic freedom," Lewis says. "I think at the end of all of those projects, we looked at each other and were excited to make music again - the four of us. It made us grateful to play with each other, and also, we learned from all the people we played with.
"For me, just being able to learn Ben Gibbard's guitar parts and harmonies, and just to be in a band with someone who's such a professional and such an amazing talent," Lewis continues, speaking of The Postal Service co-founder and Death Cab for Cutie frontman. "A lot of the people I know shouldn't be making music, but they are, but Ben Gibbard should be. He's the real deal."
Rilo Kiley's other projects also led to the addition of a new band member, Mike Bloom, who backed Sennett in The Elected, which, according to Lewis, was "some sort of Rilo Kiley boot camp" for Bloom. She believes he has been invaluable in adapting the songs from More Adventurous for the live setting. Lewis will spend more time pursuing other projects in the future, reporting that she will be making a record for Conor Oberst's Team Love label.
Though it must seem like a frantic time for Rilo Kiley, Lewis seems remarkably poised and excited about future possibilities; perhaps it's because the heart of her group remains constant. On More Adventurous, Sennett and Lewis are as strong a songwriting pair as ever. The duo has written music together since the time they met seven years ago, and that familiarity and comfortability translates into their songwriting process.
"Some [songs] were written together, some were written on our own, but we end up collaborating on everything in the end," she says. "We edit each other's songs. Blake isn't afraid to say, 'this sucks, Lewis.'"
When asked if she can say the same to Sennett, Lewis answers with a coy smile, "Oh yeah."
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