Acid Tongue

Okay, so I KNOW there are those who can't stop waving the Rilo Kiley torch, or the Watson Twins torch as well, but this album is about Jenny Lewis and that's who I'm reviewing. She shines, to keep it simple.

The album starts slowly, with the whimsical flirting chords of "Black Sand" and then the dark, slow churning "Pretty Bird" keeps the flow going smoothly, finishing with a strum that shakes you and fades into silence. Not for long, cause what comes next is "The Next Messiah", which is one of those few album tracks that feels live but isn't, and therefore this meandering jam achieves the ultimate level of polished iridescence.

"Bad Man's World" brings you back out of that shake your butt drumbeat with another of Lewis's paradigms of songbird vocal melancholia, the likes of which we haven't seen I think since before Joni Mitchell's balls dropped (I refer to the effect her smoking has had on her voice over the years that has rendered her from soprano to tenor, which is still beautiful, don't get me wrong, I love Joni, but its no longer that crystal clear soprano you hear as the ghost voice on Neil Young's contribution to The Last Waltz).

But onward, to the meat of this album. "Acid Tongue" softly wails the tale of the road tripper, a road Lewis and so many hundreds of thousands out there have been on. She sings the song of no regrets, but simply having had her fill, despite her soul attraction to that particular journey and the places it has taken her. Following is "See Fernando", a song I must admit I prefer live with the Watson Twins, but it's still a great track and worth it. Had I never heard the live version before, I might have been all about this one. "Godspeed" breaks my heart, just an amazing song, one that floors you and rips you open and makes you want to hug your best friend for all the times you've had be painfully real with each other. This was my favorite song on this album.

Then there's "Carpetbagger", a song that I really wish Costello hadn't opened his mouth on, but the song is strong enough with its audacity and razor edge to have you forgiving Elvis the minute Jenny takes the mike back. Side not on "Carpetbagger", I live in SC, and there are so many bars that this song would not go over well in, but that doesn't mean the patrons don't need to hear it.

"Carpetbagger" goes into "Trying My Best to Love You", another slow churned, extra creamy Jenny ballad, which preludes the jaw dropping "Jack Killed Mom", a song that will make you see the Janis Joplin influence on Jenny Lewis, not one of emulation, but of pure SOUL, dig?

Ending this unfortunately short album is the sweet not saccharine "Sing a Song for Them", which is a gentle come down that reminds me of the Dead's "Ripple", Jenny Lewis ends her album with hope and wisdom and a smile on her face that you can hear through your speakers.

To quote my best friend, "Whatever she's on, I want two."

I've been a Rilo Kiley fan since 2003, and like someone else had said, I wanted to like this album. I really did. I thought Rabbit Fur Coat was pretty good, but this was a real disappointment. There are a lot of hipster kids who will say that this album is genius, and I really question whether they would listen to something like this if it wasn't Jenny Lewis. I'm leaning more towards no, they wouldn't. I saw her a few times on her 2006 solo tour, and "Carpetbaggers" and "Acid Tongue" were fantastic, but the studio versions disappointed me. Elvis Costello sounds out of place on "Carpetbaggers" and the backing/chorus vocals on "Acid Tongue" stick out too much and take away from what would otherwise be a flawless song. "Jack Killed Mom" is okay, as is "The Next Messiah," but I can't really listen to the others. The first two tracks are weak openers, and Jenny's voice takes on an odd pitch. The rest aren't all bad; I just can't get into them.

Sorry. I tried to like it, but ultimately, this record is less than what I have come to expect from Jenny.

This is one of those albums that I can't listen to just once, even though nearly every song could stand alone.

For this album, Lewis and her collaborators left behind most audio editing technology to give a more natural sound to it. The songs sound incredibly geuine without being gritty, and there's still plenty of rock.

"The Next Messiah" will, no doubt, be one of the most talked about songs from this disc. It's around 9 minutes long, but it flies by and seems perfectly at home among the other songs.

It's hard to write a slow song that's still incredibly catchy, but this album has many. "Black Sand," "Godspeed," and "Pretty Bird" are infectious but wouldn't sound out of place in a coffee house. "Carpetbagger" and "See Fernando" are more up-tempo and equally viral, "Carpetbagger" featuring Elvis Costello on vocals. I'm not convinced his vocals fit the song, but he definitely lends that Elvis Costello presence to the song.

For those who are bigger fans of Rilo Kiley or Rabbit Fur Coat, there are songs that could be at home there too. The title track could be a Rilo Kiley song as it tells the story of a woman who's given up smoking and drugs but hasn't convinced herself that redemption is available just yet. The penultimate song, "Jack Killed Mom" has a fun spirit that is purely of this album but also a gospel influence that would be right at home on Rabbit Fur Coat.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 52 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars