Song of the Day 1/30: Rilo Kiley, “Portions for Foxes”
Summer festival lineups are being announced, and as usual the biggest news is about a band reunion. Wanna feel old? The band is Rilo Kiley.
Formed by erstwhile child actors Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett in Los Angeles in 1998, Rilo Kiley hit their stride in 2004 with their third LP, “More Adventurous.” Both Sennett and Lewis sang, played guitar and wrote, sometimes jointly, but Lewis, as lead singer and the more prolific writer, attracted most of the attention. “Portions for Foxes,” a co-write, is a good example of how well she presented her sensitive but direct lyrics. The title is from Psalm 63.
Lewis and Sennett were romantically involved before breaking up in 2002. By 2004 the band was cresting but the duo was growing further apart musically. Sennett released an album with his side project, The Elected, while Lewis drew raves for her solo debut, “Rabbit Fur Jacket.” The musical partnership lasted through 2007’s “Under the Blacklight” and a corresponding tour but took a hiatus and never returned. It was years before official word of a break-up.
It probably didn’t help that Lewis started another romantic-musical partnership with singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice in 2006. Their 2010 album as Jenny and Johnny was slagged by critics and her fans. The couple parted after 12 years together; both act today like neither the act nor relationship ever happened.
Sennett gave several interviews indicating the band’s final years were tumultuous, but nobody involved ruled out a reunion, and they made a one-off charity appearance in 2015. Lewis’ most recent solo LP, 2023’s “Joy’All,” had good reviews but middling sales. Sennett was working as a producer but hasn’t recorded his own new material for more than a decade. They’ll get back together at the Just Like Heaven Festival in Pasadena May 10, and given the publicity about the appearance that might not be the last of it.
