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Jenny Lewis [a href="http://www.jennylewis.com/">Official Site, MySpace] gets more intimate on her second solo release Acid Tongue. It has a soulful twang that matches her grassroots...
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Jenny Lewis
Acid Tongue
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AMG Review of Acid Tongue
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music GuideSomewhere 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. By the time of Rilo Kiley's too-eager-to-please crossover attempt Under the Black Light in 2007, being in Rilo Kiley was indeed languishing for Lewis, as the group muddled through tight-fisted funk harshly framed by an over-lit production. Acid Tongue, Lewis' second solo album, acts as a rebuke to all the considered calculation and perfunctory polish of Under the Black Light. Nothing about Acid Tongue feels over-thought, a problem that plagued both Under the Black Light and her solo debut Rabbit Fur Coat, whose rustic country-soul vibe occasionally played like a studied pose, particularly as Lewis picked up on every one of Elvis Costello's overheated literary lyrical tics. Experience -- either life or professional, it doesn't really matter -- has sanded away much pretension within her writing, taking Lewis down to her chosen foundation: early-'70s West Coast rock, rooted in country-rock but touching on gospelfied blues and R&B, pitched somewhere between Laura Nyro and Bonnie Raitt, colored by spooky ballads and sweeping strings swiped from early Elton John.
As a solo artist, Lewis is a proud traditionalist, adhering to the constructs and conceits of classic singer/songwriters, which can come across as affectation if she's too careful to follow conventions, like she was on Rabbit Fur Coat. In stark contrast to that 2006 LP, Acid Tongue is open-hearted and thrillingly alive, an album that's all about a live band making a big, joyful noise in a small room. This was largely recorded live in a short span of time and it feels that way: when it rocks -- as it does on the furious "See Fernando" and "Jack Killed Mom," both picking up speed like a runaway locomotive -- it's invigorating, while softer moments like the girl-groupish "Trying My Best to Love You" have a warm intimacy. There's a communal vibe here, which is only appropriate as these sessions had a revolving open door, bringing in plenty of friends and guests, including old reconstituted hippies like Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, wannabe troubadours like Lewis' boyfriend Johnathan Rice, both halves of She & Him, and Jenny's idol Costello, who appears for a rip-roaring duet on "Carpetbaggers" and lends his protégée some of his Imposters, including drummer Pete Thomas who gives this a wallop.
This old-fashioned jam session gives Acid Tongue a crackling vitality but what's remarkable about the album is how much more comfortable Jenny Lewis seems here, as both a singer and writer. The vigorous music undercuts any lingering stodginess from Lewis' classicism but she's also shaken off the cobwebs on her writing, mastering an elusive, open-ended melancholy that makes "Black Sand" truly haunting and not wasting space even when "The New Messiah" spills out to upwards of ten minutes. Lewis isn't exploring new territory here; instead she's digging deeper, tossing out what hasn't worked and sharpening what has, finding a way to carve out a distinctive voice within a tradition instead of redefining the style. That's tough work, as it takes time to hone those skills, but Acid Tongue is where Lewis finally pulls it all together and delivers one killer of a record.
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue Review
L'Chaim! Jenny Lewis Devoutly Rocks D.C. Synagogue
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Jenny Lewis - Sixth and I Synagogue Washington, DC (10/2/2008) Jenny Lewis brought a heady mix of the sacred and the secular to D.C.'s beautiful Sixth and I Synagogue last night. The lead singer of L.A.-based indie poppers Rilo Kiley first surprised fans in 2006 with solo effort Rabbit Fur Coat, which sounded more than a little bit country and little bit rock 'n' roll. Lewis has continued in t...
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Wow... That was disappointing.
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I am so absolutely baffled by the number of people enjoying this record that I'm wondering if my copy of it was somehow defective or switched out with something else entirely. Were it not for the lyrics paralleling the track titles, I'd be positive that was the case.I have been a Rilo Kiley fan since Take Offs and Landings, and while I cannot say that I particularly enjoyed Rabbit Fur Coat, it ...
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Jenny Lewis- 'Acid Tongue' (2008)
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Hey everyone. Silver Pencilled here. I'm the newest Modern Music blog member and I'm going to be...
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Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
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Jenny Lewis sheds the Watson Twins on her second and possibly permanent sabbatical from Rilo Kiley, but picks up a busload of famous friends and keeps some twang whilst also visiting plenty of other new destinations.
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Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
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MOGstars: 9 out of 10 Listening to Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight, it would be easy to assume Jenny Lewis was an out and out city girl - it is a record that plunges through the grime and detritus of the sprawling metropolis, unearthing players, pornstars and countless other villains. Yet Lewis' solo albums, the second of which sees release Stateside on Tuesday, are a much more Mid-Western a...
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I cheated.
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Yes, I downloaded the new Jenny Lewis album. But I am justifying this illegal act by a) going to see her in Nashville this weekend for the hefty price of $112 and b) buying the album once it officially drops/if it's on sale at the merch table. So no harm done, right? :) Now on to the review:Go ahead, drop some acid. Acid Tongue, that is. The second solo release from Jenny Lewis, the Rilo Kiley ...
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Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
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MOGstars: 9 out of 10 Listening to Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight, it would be easy to assume Jenny Lewis was an out and out city girl - it is a record that plunges through the grime and detritus of the sprawling metropolis, unearthing players, pornstars and countless other villains. Yet Lewis' solo albums, the second of which sees release Stateside on Tuesday, are a much more Mid-Western a...
More >
Jenny Lewis - The Next Messiah
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A chance to hear this funky new track from Jenny's new album... and look, I'm not the only person who hides in her closet...
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Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
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I have seen people talking about it...but they haven't posted the song yet.Soooo.....Here you go.
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New Jenny Lewis music video
Jenny Lewis announces new solo album and tour
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No rabbits were harmed for the making of this album. Rilo Kiley fans now have a little something to fuel their fire. As a follow-up to the Watson Twins tinged "Rabbit Fur Coat", Jenny Lewis has just announced the details to her second solo album dubbed "Acid Tongue." The album due in September has a few familiar faces featured on it. Do the names Elvis Costello, M. Ward, and Zooey Deschanel sou...
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New! Stream Jenny Lewis' "Acid Tongue"
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Here's the title track off Jenny Lewis' upcoming solo album. So far I'm liking this a lot. What do you think? The album is out Sept. 23.
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I've been a bad mogger...
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It's been since last summer that I last posted. I got behind on things and never really seemed to catch up. Actually I still haven't, but to hell with it. I regret not reading all of y'all's thoughts on music over the last several months and I hope that this place is as I remember it. I may not be on here too often, but I won't disappear again, and I'll try to catch up as much as possible.I alr...
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I cheated.
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Yes, I downloaded the new Jenny Lewis album. But I am justifying this illegal act by a) going to see her in Nashville this weekend for the hefty price of $112 and b) buying the album once it officially drops/if it's on sale at the merch table. So no harm done, right? :) Now on to the review:Go ahead, drop some acid. Acid Tongue, that is. The second solo release from Jenny Lewis, the Rilo Kiley ...
More >
L'Chaim! Jenny Lewis Devoutly Rocks D.C. Synagogue
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Jenny Lewis - Sixth and I Synagogue Washington, DC (10/2/2008) Jenny Lewis brought a heady mix of the sacred and the secular to D.C.'s beautiful Sixth and I Synagogue last night. The lead singer of L.A.-based indie poppers Rilo Kiley first surprised fans in 2006 with solo effort Rabbit Fur Coat, which sounded more than a little bit country and little bit rock 'n' roll. Lewis has continued in t...
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I havent been on MOG in a long time. I'm glad to see the change.
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So I am offering for you listning Pleasure A song, By a women. A sexy Women, A singer, A red head Beauty. From her new Album Acid Tounge, I give you Next Messiah
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Jenny Lewis Gives Conan Her "Acid Tongue"
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From the first announcement -- and through those weak sketches featuring her special friend Johnathan Rice and fellow Postal worker Ben Gibbard -- Jenny's been intent on keeping this an extended family affair. Last night she brought Rice and other hugging, harmonizing pals to Conan, making the host hold up her blotter album art a few times while she wore a hat and sang the album's title track ....
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Jenny Lewis
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So, I think it's great and all that Jenny Lewis is now on Warner Bros. The thing is, the WB has this super-duper security thing going on with their advance copy CDs, and I can't play the promo they sent me of Jenny's new album, Acid Tongue. I tried it on my computer, I tried it in the car, and the players just kept spitting it out. Yes, it's important to protect one's recordings from piracy,...
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New Music: Jenny Lewis - "Acid Tongue"
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The first and only time I saw Rilo Kiley, they were opening for Elliott Smith at the Henry Fonda Theater. Jenny Lewis, the band's lead singer, was in obvious awe of the now-late songwriter, thanking him for asking her band to play the show by saying, "It's like opening for John Lennon." This, needless to say, endeared her to me immediately.Five years and a few studio misfires later, Jenny's won...
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The Long and the Short of It
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I'm always impressed by the ability to pull off a long song. Mostly because I usually don't like them, so when I do, it's exciting. The new Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue, is very 60s and 70s, more accessible to me than her first solo album, but with a wacky, Hollywood-girl edge (intensified by a lot of Zooey Deschanel on backing vocals). My favorite song is "The Next Messiah." It appears to be about...
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Full Album Streams : Jenny Lewis : Rosebuds : Portugal The Man
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Stream The Rosebuds' entire upcoming album Life Like at the Merge Store . The Rosebuds - Life Like Jenny Lewis' entire new album, Acid Tongue is streaming at her MySpace . Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue Portugal. The Man are streaming their new album, Censored Colors on their myspace. -------------------------------------------------------- Official Site | MySpace | More MP3s |...
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 "Acid Tongue")
