Graphic by Adam Kesner
There’s been a death among us — Rilo Kiley has officially, with out a doubt, broken up. Even though we all pretty much knew the band was over, this didn’t make the news that Blake Sennet, Pierre de Reeder, Jason Boesel and Jenny Lewis wouldn’t be making music together any easier to bear. Sure, there’s the recently released collection of deep cuts and unreleased tracks RKives, but that just makes us miss them even more. After all, for a lot of us (certainly for me) Rilo Kiley was the first indie band we truly loved. So, in honor of their amazing career (and because it always feels good to pretend to be a teenager again), we’ve decided to compile a list of our 20 absolute favorite Rilo Kiley songs. Don’t worry, we’ve spared you the specific memories of hook-ups, break-ups and dance parties attached to them.
Spotify:
20-16
20. The Moneymaker
19. Go Ahead
18. Jenny, You’re Barely Alive
17. More Adventurous
16. Breakin’ Up
15-11
15. So Long
14. Paints Peeling
13. Wires and Waves
12. Science vs. Romance
11. Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight that Surrounds You
10. Let Me Back In
Though this track’s first official release was on the most recent RKives album, “Let Me Back In” has been kicking around for years under the name “I Love LA”. After hearing its mix of country, pop and Jenny Lewis’ soulful vocals, even those who’ve just listened for the first time can’t deny what a quintessential Rilo Kiley song it is. The bittersweet air fits perfectly into the context of saying good-bye to one of our favorite bands.
9. Plane Crash in C
The combination of Jenny Lewis’ girlish voice, country twang and emotionally raw lyrics made “Plane Crash in C” one of the band’s first songs that I feel completely in love with. The mix of Blake Sennet and Jenny Lewis’s vocals is absolutely magical.
8. August
There has to be at least one Blake Sennet track on any Rilo Kiley list. His quiet and casual voice never sounded better than it did here — a simple love song that showcases the easy, summery nature that I always associated with the band.
7. A Man/Me/Then Jim
The complexity of Rilo Kiley’s lyrics is often hidden behind the relentless catchiness of their songs. Regardless, there are few modern bands that can do the story song as well as they can. This one, with it’s three intertwining tales of sadness and “the slow fade of love,” is heartbreaking and an easy sing-a-long — coupled with the aching horns and pedal steel guitar, it easily deserves a place among the band’s best songs.
6. Does He Love You?
Another spectacular song bathed in heartbreak and loss, “Does He Love You?” gave us the pop side of the Rilo Kiley — the side that made them accessible to kids discovering indie for the first time. Jenny Lewis is the super star of this song, packing her voice with endless pathos, both in the loud belts and moments of quiet introspection. And, let’s be honest with ourselves, how many hundreds of break ups has this song soundtracked?
5. It’s A Hit
Though they often saved their A game for exploring emotional tumult, they still delivered a few killer political lines on the lead track from More Adventurous. The first verse captures the feelings of the mid aughts perfectly, and you can hear years of imitations to come from the sunny, guitar-driven pop throughout the song.
4. My Slumbering Heart
I honestly wanted to write, “I just really love this song,” and leave it at that, but that would be doing a disservice to this remarkable track. The Execution of All Things contains the strongest collection of the band’s material, and “My Slumbering Heart” kicks off the record in the best of ways. Lyrics describing summery, jaunty dreams weave in and out of music that takes enough left turns to finally end up where it started. The crescendo of “it just feels good when you’re waking up/and it just feels good when you’re next to me” is worthy of shouting at all ages.
3. A Better Son/Daughter
“A Better Son/Daughter” is beautifully constructed, featuring a marching beat, slow build and, most importantly, instantly-recognizable lyrics that hit incredibly close to home — even for those who’ve never had moments of crippling anxiety or depression, this anthem of getting out of bed and pretending to be “on” speaks volumes. The true brilliance of the song is the transition from quiet to loud when Jenny Lewis gets out of bed and shows “up to work with a smile.” Shifting the sound from muddy to absolutely in your face, this not-so-subtle change in direction makes all the difference, whether we’re talking about the music or just getting out of bed.
2. Portions for Foxes
At a certain point, I’m not sure whether this song is number 2 because it’s a spectacular, power-pop track with wildly great lyrics and creative guitar licks — or because I can’t reminisce about being in school without remembering dancing to this song. Granted, those two reasons probably go hand in hand. Jenny Lewis may never match the lyrics of this track, which are deceptively simple and, like all the best Rilo Kiley songs, so very relatable. Of course, those lyrics would be nothing without the driving force of Sennet’s guitar parts that rev and slow down exactly when needed. Their first major label single is easily one of their very best songs, and that’s pretty rare.
1. With Arms Outstretched
To be honest, the top three songs are all tied in my book, but in the end, “With Arms Outstretched” won because of its perfect simplicity. Starting with just an acoustic guitar and Jenny Lewis sounding her most achingly sincere, the track gradually turns into a stomping, clapping chorus consisting of the band, the producer and Conor Oberst (just for good measure). It’s a song that doesn’t rely on production or even the swelling of voices, just it’s own construction. Next time you’re going for a drive, or a walk, or just feeling a little bit nostalgic for when you were an innocent teenager, put this on — I promise that you’ll be clapping along with the recording by the end.
