Lily Allen - It's Not Me It's You [Clear]

Lily Allen swapped ska-pop sunshine for glossy synths and sharper satire on It's Not Me, It's You, her 2009 second album, now pressed on clear vinyl.

Produced and co-written with Greg Kurstin, who had also worked on her debut, the record was a deliberate leap forward. Out went most of the reggae lilt; in came electropop, glittering keyboards and even touches of jazz and country. Her targets grew bigger too, with songs poking at celebrity culture, consumerism, drugs and faith, all delivered in that same disarmingly sweet voice that made the barbs so much sharper.

"The Fear" is the album's crown jewel, a shimmering, deadpan takedown of fame and the hunger for more stuff. "Not Fair" trades synths for a jaunty country hoedown while she complains, very frankly, about a lover who never quite delivers. "22" sketches a woman feeling the clock tick on a life that peaked too early, and "Who'd Have Known" softens the mood with a tender, almost shy love song.

Smart, funny and surprisingly poignant, it showed that Allen could grow up without losing her bite, and it still sounds ahead of its time. On clear vinyl, these songs sparkle all over again, every one-liner still landing exactly where she aimed it.