Rilo Kiley to release rarities compilation in April

By Mikael Wood

Feb. 5, 2013 1:57 PM PT

Is it time to admit that Rilo Kiley is never, ever getting back together?

Sure seems that way. Nearly six years after the release of its last studio album, the L.A. band announced Monday that it’s preparing a disc of rarities for release through bassist Pierre de Reeder’s label, Little Record Co. “RKives,” due April 2, will contain previously unreleased songs along with demos, B-sides and remixes, including a version of “Dejalo” that reportedly features the rapper Too $hort.

In a statement, Rilo Kiley said the 16-track set will also feature “artwork lovingly designed by the band with a rich mix of personal photos, collages and hand-written lyrics.”

Sounds an awful lot like a swan song, right?

Led by singer (and former child actor) Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley made a string of excellent records throughout the first half of the 2000s, culminating in “Under the Blacklight” in 2007. (Watch the video for that album’s “Silver Lining” below.)

Yet guitarist Blake Sennett has spoken in recent years about fraying relationships within the group, and none of the members has lacked for outside activity of late: Sennett fronts the Elected; De Reeder put out a solo album; drummer Jason Boesel plays in JJAMZ; and Lewis formed the duo Jenny & Johnny with her boyfriend, Johnathan Rice.

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She’ll also serve as a member of the Postal Service on that group’s upcoming reunion tour, which launches April 9 in Reno and will include performances at both weekends of Coachella.

Still, Lewis told BuzzFeed last month that “you can never shut the door on anything,” adding, “There are so many songs that I didn’t want to play for so many years, but then they kind of come back around and they become relevant again.”

We look forward to the inevitable it’s-not-a-reunion reunion to come.