Lily Allen, Alright, Still (2 ½ out of 5 stars)

British popper Lily Allen, recently signed to major UK recording company Parlophone, is tearing up the charts in her native country, but she is falling short in the States. This 21-year-old is one of the quickest-rising starlets over the pond, and her first album was one of the biggest pop albums in the summer of 2006. She has a number one single under her belt, “Smile,” which is getting a little American attention via MySpace and MTV. Unfortunately, “Smile” might be the only good song on Allen’s album. After the first two or three songs, the rest of the album stretches to catch up to the hype of the number one single. In a progressive-music nature, Allen layers synth, piano and reggae beats to try and create something great. But she missed the mark entirely. She’s so popular in the UK! If I had to venture a guess, I would say separating her lyrics from the music is the most obvious way to discover Allen’s mediocrity. “LDN” is a song chastising muggers and crack whores for messing up her beautiful London, while being completely misleadingly in its peppy ska melody. And when I first heard “Littlest Things,” I thought my computer was accidentally playing two different songs on top of each other, her vocals not quite meshing with the piano/punk melody. “Mixtape One” and “Mixtape Two” are especially horrible. They combine Allen’s questionable editing taste with fumbling beats and random gunshots, airhorns, and sound effects. Really, this is supposed to be innovative music? Allen’s debut album could be classified as Alright, but that’s the highest mark she’s got from me.