To hear Pierre “Duke” de Reeder tell it, it?s wise to take Spin?s cover feature on Rilo Kiley with a grain of salt.
The indy rock band?s co-founder, who handles bass and vocal duties, sounded a bit dismayed as he discussed last year?s major cover story that hinted Rilo Kiley might be the next Fleetwood Mac by way of personal drama. Of course, Fleetwood Mac?s 1977 album “Rumours” detailed the band members? couplings, dramas and break ups.
“Yeah, they more than hinted,” said bass player and vocalist de Reeder of the article. “Our band is a family, a functioning unit. Whatever happens influences our music. … It?s the same with every band. Blake (Sennett, the co-founder and guitarist) and Jenny (Lewis, lead singer, guitar, keyboards) did have a personal relationship but that?s all way in the past.”
What?s now is that the band is touring behind its much anticipated fourth album, “Under the Blacklight,” which earned quite a buzz for both its music and its video for the song “The Moneymaker” which features real-life porn stars.
While the band may seem to some as newbie up-and-comers, it?s been around since 1998. The music, said de Reeder, has evolved as the members have discovered new areas to explore and honed their musical skills. “There are no specific answer to how the music has changed or if it?s changed ? aside from taking time to learn fancier [ways to play] and creating a more guttural sound,” he said.
Although de Reeder is modest about the music, such experimentation is in short supply in today?s rock world; The sound won major kudos from music critics including Robert Christgau of Rolling Stone who wrote of the latest album “Because Rilo Kiley?s “More Adventurous” was a triumph of the well-made narrative song, its markedly terser and beatier follow-up, which is also the band?s true major-label debut, will be accused of sellout. Instead, it?s yet more adventurous, a prosperous band?s challenge to its comfortable cult.”
Credit that advance to the maturing of the band members both personally and artistically.
“Before we might have shied away from that,” said de Reeder of the experimentation. “Now we [are comfortable taking] what we learned and expressing it on the record.”
IF YOU GO
Rilo Kiley with Thap with the Get Down Stay Down, Beji Hughes
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, Baltimore
Tickets: $25
