Rkives | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Compilation album by Rilo Kiley | ||||
Released | April 2, 2013 | |||
Genre | Indie rock, alt country, folk, indie pop | |||
Length | 77:51 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Little Record Company | |||
Rilo Kiley chronology | ||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 72/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
The A.V. Club | B+ |
Drowned in Sound | 8/10 |
Mojo | |
MSN Music | A |
Pitchfork Media | 7.4/10 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
Spin | 8/10 |
Uncut | 6/10 |
Rkives (stylized as rkives pronunciation: /ˈɑːrkaɪvz/ "archives") is a compilation album released in 2013 by Los Angeles-based band Rilo Kiley.
Following the 2010 announcement of the band's hiatus, drummer Jason Boesel discussed plans for a compilation album, intended for release that year. In 2012, it was confirmed by Pitchfork Media that the B-sides release was nearly finished. The release date for the album was eventually announced as April 2, 2013.
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis described the songs that went into the album.
“Every record that I’ve ever been a part of, there are always leftovers — things that don’t work as a part of the whole thing,” Lewis says. “Some songs, which may actually be better songs in the long run, get kind of kicked to the side in the process. We scoured our digital hard drives and old 8-track cassette tapes and made this record.”
The band reached out to fans for help making a video for "Let Me Back In", inviting fans "to upload your favorite personal Rilo Kiley video clip, band footage, created animation, etc... whatever you have in moving pictures that you'd like to share with us." The video was released via Pitchfork Media on February 19, 2013.
Spin Magazine gave the compilation an 8/10, saying that "Rkives is not the sorely nonexistent sixth Rilo Kiley album, unfortunately, but as a career-spanning loose-ends wrap-up, it's sure a lot better than the next best thing". Rolling Stone called it a "mostly filler-free set of outtakes, demos and b-sides", and The A.V. Club said that while the album "begins and ends as a “fans only” endeavor [...] the compilation provides an essential supplement to the Rilo Kiley discography".