The album marks the return of the band following individual solo projects. On January 24, 2006,
Jenny Lewis released
Rabbit Fur Coat while
Blake Sennett released
Sun, Sun, Sun with
The Elected. The album was produced by the band with
Jason Lader and
Mike Elizondo. The first single to be released from the album was "The Moneymaker". The second single was "Silver Lining". Several tracks from
Blacklight were leaked in advance of the album's official release date. On August 17, 2007, the band started streaming the whole album on their MySpace page. The album's
jewel case is tinted purple, reminiscent of a
blacklight. The album's covers and inlays were designed by Lewis and
Pierre de Reeder, with photography by Autumn de Wilde. The
liner notes do not feature any song lyrics. The band's first official major label debut features a number of guests musicians, including
Jackson Browne,
Alex Greenwald of
Phantom Planet and
James Valentine and
Mickey Madden from
Maroon 5. However, the album credits do not state on which songs the guests appear.
Under the Blacklight debuted at number 22 on the U.S.
Billboard 200, selling about 27,000 copies in its first week. As of December 2012, sales in the United States have exceeded 186,000 copies, according to
Nielsen SoundScan. On September 25, 2007, Rilo Kiley appeared on
Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform "Dreamworld". "Dreamworld" was the first Rilo Kiley song to become popular in
Russia. In November 2007 it was added to the playlist of Maximum, one of the most popular stations in Russia. "Breakin' Up" was heard at the end of the Grey's Anatomy season 4 episode "Forever Young". "The MoneyMaker" was used as the background music in promotional spots for
Fox Network's "
Canterbury's Law" and a 2009
Carl's Jr. ad featuring
Audrina Patridge. "15" was included in the "Clearance Sale" show of Season 3 of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio in April 2009. ==Critical reception==