It's taken me long enough to get round to this one; I heard a few songs from it at the time that it was released (2002), most notably "A Better Son/Daughter", a brilliantly tuneful and messed-up anti-anthem, resolutely downcast but somehow overwhelmingly affirmatory, and since then have contrived to hear a majority of its songs in one way or another (downloads, last.fm, radio...) and liked every one. Anyway, a few days ago I realised that I really needed to listen to and own the album, and it lives up to all expectations - it's pretty much as good as this kind of melodic, guitar-driven indie-rock gets (all the better that it has something of a countrified edge).
"A Better Son/Daughter" is still as good as it ever was, but I like "The Execution of All Things" even more - it has the same soaring melodicism, the same slashing guitars, the same attitude, the same utter conviction...and it's even more catchy. At their best, Rilo Kiley have the knack of writing songs and, I suppose, Jenny Lewis has the knack of singing those songs, in such a way that nearly every line (lyrical or instrumental) works as a hook, dragging the listener along in the song's wake, and "The Execution of All Things" is probably the best example of that.
The two other highlights come right at the end: first, "With Arms Outstretched", a uniquely gentle, wide-eyed, aw-shucks top-of-a-mountain moment (complete with strummed acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, handclaps and 'boy choir' including Conor Oberst); then, the band gets its rock gear back on with barnstorming finale "Spectacular Views", one of the few songs on the album to have a genuine chorus, and a helluva good one at that. (That said, the opening pair of "The Good That Won't Come Out" and "Paint's Peeling" is pretty fantastic, too.)
As I sort of suggested earlier, the two best things about The Execution of All Things are the edgy, memorable songwriting and Lewis's delivery (guitarist Blake Sennett also sings on a couple of songs). But the lyrics are also a feature - they have a disaffectedness and a feel of human messiness which is exactly right, and while little fragments often leap out, they work best as wholes, each song forming a self-contained, unified narrative ("A Better Son/Daughter" is the best of these). All in all, I'd go as far as to call this album a minor masterpiece - it's the complete package.
