Track Listing

1. Go Ahead
2. Science Vs Romance
3. Wires And Waves
4. Pictures Of Success
5. August
6. Bullet Proof
7. Plane Crash In C
8. Science Vs Romance
9. Small Figure In A Vast Expanse
10. Don't Deconstruct
11. Always
12. We'll Never Sleep (God Knows We'll Try)
13. Rest Of My Life
14. Plane Crash In C

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20259 in Music
• Released on: 2007-09-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

CD Description
Originally released on the band's own label Rilo Records, 'Take Offs And Landings' was picked up by Seattle based labelBarsuk before the band signed with Saddle Creek and then EMI. Essentially their debut release, the album features fourteen songs of pure indie pop giving an insight into where theband's sound would take them.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant new band - get into them before the others do!
This is a really hard album to review and justify the 5-star rating, because if I just describe it to you then it sounds nuthin' special - American indie band, jangly guitars, a few keyboards, label-mates with Bright Eyes, nothing that makes it sound special to you out there reading this...

...BUT...

... IT IS. It really is. Partly because of the female vocals - saracstic and sweet, clever and melodic, you get a real sense of a real personality, not the normal hushed female vocals. The lyrics are brilliant in places. The other great thing about this album is that it works as AN ALBUM - themes are repeated in the lyrics, as well as two 'Variations on a Theme' tracks that revisit previous songs.

Anyway, I'll admit to being a bandwagon-jumper myself - i've heard this only recently, but it was so good that it made me order the other 2 albums straight away after 1st listen. It's years since I've done that before...

TOAL is no TOIL
To see this album blighted by anything less than 5 stars overall is a crime against music and I'm submitting this to try and redress the balance. If you remotely like the band and you want to know where it all started (actually it didn't start here, they released what's known as the First Pressing, Second Pressing and Initial Friend EPs but you get the point) then don't be put off by anything you've read here.

Everything that makes RK what it is today was in place and evident on this album. Jenny's beautiful soulful countrified vocals and intelligent, thoughtful and witty lyrics (superb use of the `f' word too) mixed with great melodies and tunes. Okay maybe the production doesn't sound quite as rich as it did by the time of More Adventurous but who cares if the songs are good enough and they are: `Pictures of Success' and `Go Ahead' are still mainstays of their live act 6 years on and do not sound out of place at all. As with the follow up, EOAT, you also get more of Blake's vocals but, after a period of adjustment, that's no bad thing for a bit of variety.

There is a real ambition on this record. An ambition that was followed through on EOAT and then More Adventurous. So don't deny yourself the luxury of hearing where it came from.

Rilo Kiley - Take Offs and Landings
Rilo Kiley aspire to transcendency with their debut, being all kooky and that and it's certainly interesting. However, Blake Sennett's voice or the songs he sings lead on were irritating at this point and some of the Jenny Lewis-lead songs just meander aimlessly. The band would put things in a brighter and better with the follow up, The Execution of All Things.