Rilo Kiley – More Adventurous

The Rilo Kiley More Adventurous vinyl is one of those records that defined a specific moment in American indie rock and continues to draw in new listeners two decades on. Released August 17, 2004 on Barsuk Records, this is the Los Angeles band’s third full-length, and it represents a deliberate, audible shift in their ambitions. The title is not just a name. It was a stated goal, and the band delivered on it.

Rilo Kiley and the Sound of More Adventurous

By 2004, Rilo Kiley had already built a devoted following through their first two albums and relentless touring. Jenny Lewis had established herself as one of the most compelling vocalists in the indie world, and the band around her, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder and Jason Boesel, had developed a chemistry that was hard to pin down but easy to recognize. More Adventurous pushed that chemistry into broader sonic territory. The arrangements are fuller, the emotional range wider, and the songwriting more confident. It is the record where Rilo Kiley stopped feeling like a promising band and started feeling like a fully realized one.

Pressing Details: Barsuk Records, Catalog BARK 41

This copy is the Barsuk Records pressing, catalog number BARK 41. Barsuk was the Pacific Northwest independent label that also put out records by Death Cab for Cutie and Nada Surf during this same era, and they consistently prioritized quality in their physical releases. The LP format suits this album well. More Adventurous was sequenced with intention, and hearing it divided across two sides gives the record a structure that the CD version simply cannot replicate. Side breaks fall in ways that let individual songs land with proper weight before the needle lifts.

Why Collectors Want This Copy

Original pressings of More Adventurous on vinyl are not easy to come by. The record came out at a time when vinyl runs were modest, pressed for a market that had not yet fully returned to the format, which means original copies surface infrequently and tend to move quickly when they do. For collectors focused on mid-2000s American indie, this sits alongside records by Bright Eyes, the Decemberists and Feist as a key document of that particular moment. It is also simply a very good listen on wax. The production has warmth and space that rewards a proper turntable setup. If Rilo Kiley matters to you, or if you are building a serious collection of that era, this Barsuk pressing is the format the album deserves to be heard on.