Acid Tongue
With basic tracks cut as close to live as possible, including the lead vocals, the Rilo Kiley singer’s second solo album expresses a raw excitement, strongly supported by an enviable guestlist and the impressive sonics of Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, CA, where the recording for Neil Young’s *After the Goldrush* and Nirvana’s *Nevermind* once took place. With those ghosts in the air, Lewis set out to capture a performance, and that she does. Elvis Costello adds his coarse edge for a duet of “Carpetbaggers.” M. Ward adds his peculiar guitar to “Pretty Bird.” The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson joins for the title track. Despite these high-ranking names, the spotlight is strongly on Lewis who sings with even greater elasticity and authority, as evidenced by the swooping theatrics of “Black Sand,” the funky PJ Harvey-like seductress moves behind the eight-minute epic “The Next Messiah,” and the perky chirpiness she infuses into “Sing a Song for Them” and the cello-violin supported, gospel-tinged “Trying My Best to Love You” (also featuring a vocal from Zooey Deschanel). Lewis manages to vary her attack without ever losing focus.
Rilo Kiley co-leader Jenny Lewis takes another solo bow with this immediately pleasurable genre record, one brimming over with hooks and songwriting techniques that announce themselves with openness and surety. Elvis Costello guests.
Jenny Lewis' last two releases—her solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat, and Rilo Kiley's Under The Blacklight—have earned her the most attention of her career, and also the most scrutiny from longtime Rilo Kiley fans wary of the new directions the band's frontwoman has been exploring. Unfortunately for those still hoping for…
Jenny Lewis sheds the Watson Twins on her second and possibly permanent sabbatical from Rilo Kiley, but picks up a load of famous friends and keeps some twang
Somewhere along the way, Jenny Lewis decided that she wasn't an indie rocker but that she was a lady of the canyon, a singer/songwriter spinning stories on her own instead of languishing in a band with her ex-boyfriend.
Too much of Jenny Lewis's 'Acid Tongue' ignores what makes her a compelling artist in favor of empty, not entirely successful style hopping.
Has Elvis Costello’s professional relationship with Jenny Lewis started rubbing off on her music? Costello has been a vocal fan of both Lewis and her...