(Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records.)
This album really shouldn’t be anywhere near as good as it is. I mean, historically speaking, when singers take time away from their main band to tinker away at solo albums, the results usually pale in comparison. Oftentimes, the chemistry provided by other band members proves irreplaceable, as was readily apparent in a great many post-Beatles McCartney or Lennon efforts. It can also mean that there’s no one left to say no to bad ideas. (Just listen to any Richard Ashcroft album.) Which makes it all the more astounding that Acid Tongue is not just a great solo album, but also a better album than anything Jenny Lewis has released with Rilo Kiley.
One reason for this is that Acid Tongue is far more eclectic than Under the Blacklight (where Rilo Kiley seemed hell-bent on sacrificing artistic success for commercial glory). Within the first three songs, Acid Tongue veers from the straightforward balladry of “Black Sand” to the chilled-out bass-heavy “Pretty Bird” to the ten-minute(!) bluesy bluster of “Next Messiah”. Even within the songs themselves, Lewis seems more willing to take risks. By the time you’ve gotten used to the faux-Latin flavour of “See Fernando”, she pulls the musical rug out from under you by reverting to a bare-bones handclap and vocals bridge.
Another reason Acid Tongue succeeds is the musicianship on display. Clearly, Jenny has met a fair share of talented individuals throughout her nearly ten-year musical career (in fact, Rolling Stone recently ran a feature on a “new scene” emerging in the Laurel Canyon which includes Lewis), and Acid Tongue certainly doesn’t lack guest appearances. Matt Ward of She and Him lends some moody guitar licks to “Pretty Bird”, Zooey Deschanel supplies backing vocals at odd intervals, and even that wily old codger Elvis Costello gets a verse in on “Carpetbaggers”.
But the star of the show is always Jenny, whose voice is maturing into a distinctive and powerful force. She can show restraint, as on the beautiful piano-led “Godspeed”, or howl and holler with the best of them on the thrilling blues ripper “Jack Killed Mom”. Her songwriting has also clearly grown since the early days of Rilo Kiley, when the sheer number of syllables sometimes got in the way of the melody. On Acid Tongue, she uses her lines economically by loading them with evocative images instead, like this memorable couplet from the closing “Sing a Song For Them”: “For the little girls with the carousel eyes / And the bric-a-brac finding housewives losing their minds.”
If there’s a problem to be found with Acid Tongue, it’s that it lacks that magical sonic cohesion that marks truly classic albums such as Blonde on Blonde or Astral Weeks. And yet, the musical tangents are what make this album such a fresh and exciting listen. Besides, to fault Ms. Lewis for opening herself up to new artistic territories seems like poor criticism when she succeeds so well, song after song after brilliant song.
One reason for this is that Acid Tongue is far more eclectic than Under the Blacklight (where Rilo Kiley seemed hell-bent on sacrificing artistic success for commercial glory). Within the first three songs, Acid Tongue veers from the straightforward balladry of “Black Sand” to the chilled-out bass-heavy “Pretty Bird” to the ten-minute(!) bluesy bluster of “Next Messiah”. Even within the songs themselves, Lewis seems more willing to take risks. By the time you’ve gotten used to the faux-Latin flavour of “See Fernando”, she pulls the musical rug out from under you by reverting to a bare-bones handclap and vocals bridge.
Another reason Acid Tongue succeeds is the musicianship on display. Clearly, Jenny has met a fair share of talented individuals throughout her nearly ten-year musical career (in fact, Rolling Stone recently ran a feature on a “new scene” emerging in the Laurel Canyon which includes Lewis), and Acid Tongue certainly doesn’t lack guest appearances. Matt Ward of She and Him lends some moody guitar licks to “Pretty Bird”, Zooey Deschanel supplies backing vocals at odd intervals, and even that wily old codger Elvis Costello gets a verse in on “Carpetbaggers”.
But the star of the show is always Jenny, whose voice is maturing into a distinctive and powerful force. She can show restraint, as on the beautiful piano-led “Godspeed”, or howl and holler with the best of them on the thrilling blues ripper “Jack Killed Mom”. Her songwriting has also clearly grown since the early days of Rilo Kiley, when the sheer number of syllables sometimes got in the way of the melody. On Acid Tongue, she uses her lines economically by loading them with evocative images instead, like this memorable couplet from the closing “Sing a Song For Them”: “For the little girls with the carousel eyes / And the bric-a-brac finding housewives losing their minds.”
If there’s a problem to be found with Acid Tongue, it’s that it lacks that magical sonic cohesion that marks truly classic albums such as Blonde on Blonde or Astral Weeks. And yet, the musical tangents are what make this album such a fresh and exciting listen. Besides, to fault Ms. Lewis for opening herself up to new artistic territories seems like poor criticism when she succeeds so well, song after song after brilliant song.
* * * * *
Next up: Ben travels south of the border to Bellingham to see Jenny play live! Humour the poor bastard by following him on Twitter starting 10 a.m. on January 22nd. He'll be tweeting from the Greyhound, the border, Bellingham and everywhere in between.
1 comments:
What a fantastic review of one of my favourite artists! Jenny's talent constantly blows me away, and I really believe no one has truly lived until they've heard "The Next Messiah" live. Amazing.
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