LILY ALLEN
Alright, Still Regal/EMI ****
There are probably a couple of dozen reasons why a lot of people are going to be very annoyed about the rise and rise of Lily Allen. You'll hear things like "the queen of MySpace" and "her dad is Fat Les" lobbed around like balls at Wimbledon. What you really should be hearing, though, is Allen's giddy, cheeky, goofy pop flirting away in your ear. Her lyrical twists and turns are both natural-sounding and hugely entertaining, but it's how Allen has produced an ultra-modern, bubbly pop album high on calypso, ska and reggae that really marks Alright, Still out as something rather special.
Not since Madness or The Specials has someone mined this fertile carnival soundclash to such fantastic effect. In Allen's case, a lot of her appeal is down to an assured lyrical dash, Arctic Monkeys by way of Neneh Cherry. After all, there's much to admire about a lass who can effortlessly rhyme "weight loss" with "Kate Moss" or "Tesco" with "al fresco". She has a sharp eye for a telling observation (LDN has her cycling round the city, taking in the dark side of the sunny streets), but she's also magnificent when it comes to giving both bitchy kiss-offs (Not Big) and showing her soft, tender side (Littlest Things). An album as summery as pop music can get.
