Alright, Still...

Judging by the lyrics on her album, Alright, Still..., Lily Allen is pissed off, mostly at men. The 21-year-old Brit's record, a big hit in the U.K., has now been released in the States, and it's a refreshing disc of ska-flavored bubblegum, with a bit of an acidic after-taste.

The disc begins with the engaging and toe-tapping "Smile," which is such a sunny song that only after paying attention to the words do we realize that it's about a girl who got dumped by a guy and now is amused by his pleading to have her back. That sets the tone for the rest of the album. The following track, "Knock 'Em Out," is a diatribe about guys who try to pick her up at clubs. I'm sure this refers only to a certain type of guy, i.e., losers, because surely Miss Allen is not celibate. In "Not Big," Allen slams an old boyfriend: "How would it make you feel if I said that you never ever made me cum? In the year and a half that we spent together, yeah, I never really had much fun." Well, that would probably make me feel pretty lousy.

Allen also has barbs for an ex-friend in "No Friend of Mine," and tries to set her younger brother straight in "Alfie": "I tell him he should get up cos it's nearly quarter past three, he can't be bothered cos he's high on THC." This is a curious song, because it's orchestrated as if it were meant for an oompah band, complete with an oboe introduction. Finally, Allen appears to be taking some mean-spirited shots at her grandmother in "Nan, You're a Window Shopper," going so far as to tease her because she's never learned to drive and has a hole in her colostomy bag. Clearly, Allen is not headed for a career in gerontology.

Apart from the invective lyrics, the music is bouncy and professional, and Allen has a breathy baby-doll voice that recalls early Madonna. It recalls later Madonna, too, in that the British accent is as thick as porridge but might not be authentic. In some reading I've done on her, Allen is accused by some of being a "Mockney"--that is, she fakes having a lower-class accent, even though she is the properly educated daughter of a prominent British comedian. No matter that over here in the U.S.