Jenny Lewis tells colorful stories with 'Acid Tongue'

By David L. Coddon
ASSOCIATE NIGHT&DAY EDITOR

October 2, 2008

It's apropos that Jenny Lewis' follow-up to 2006's “Rabbit Fur Coat” was recorded in the same Van Nuys live-tracking room where Neil Young cut “After the Goldrush,” the 1970 album that was originally intended as a soundtrack for a film. Because not only is Lewis – frontwoman for the popular alt-rock band Rilo Kiley – a former child actress (in everything from “Baywatch” to “Mr. Belvedere”), but her new “Acid Tongue” CD has a decided cinematic quality about it.

DETAILS Jenny Lewis: "Acid Tongue" Warner Bros.

Its genre-diverse 11 tracks tell vivid stories: an Oedpial melodrama (“Jack Killed Mom”), an acid flashback (the record's title tune), bucking up a friend (“Godspeed”), livin' the good life by bein' bad (“Carpetbaggers”). Any of these could be turned into a respectable (or not) movie of the week, with Lewis as director and star. (Co-star could be Zooey Deschanel, lately of “The Happening,” who contributes backup vocals on three of “Acid Tongue's” songs.)

Given the tightness of this album, it's remarkable that “Acid Tongue” was recorded in its entirety in only three weeks. But then Lewis had road-tested several of its tunes, including “See Fernando” and “Carpetbaggers,” on her tour supporting “Rabbit Fur Coat.” (Lewis' “Acid Tongue” tour will hit San Diego Nov. 1 at UCSD's Price Center Ballroom.) Besides that, the artists who joined her at Sound City Studios to record “Acid Tongue” constitute a stellar group. Among them: singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice, Rilo Kiley drummer Jason Boesel, the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson and Elvis Costello, who duets nicely with Lewis on the jaunty “Carpetbaggers,” this album's most radio-friendly offering. “Acid Tongue” is a family affair as well. Lewis' sister, Leslie, sings on two tracks, including the R&B special “Trying My Best to Love You,” and her father, Eddie Gordon, plays bass harp on “Jack Killed Mom.”

Lewis' singing is susceptible to fits of Jewel little-girlishness, but for the most part she demonstrates her versatility and her ease with not only rock but alt-country, and even gospellike soul. You won't hear Lewis sound much prettier than on “Pretty Bird,” the wistful second track. Then, just one song later, she and her supporting players run the gamut on the eight-plus-minute mini-suite “The Next Messiah.” Whether spitting out a lyric about a down-'n'-dirty daddy or trading vocals with Rice about giving and getting back love, she acquits herself well, showing off every trick in her bag. What might have sounded like three songs in one instead comes together seamlessly, with the help of “Acid Tongue” co-producers Rice, “Farmer” Dave Scher (Beachwood Sparks) and Jason Lader.

“Acid Tongue” should tide you over until the next Rilo Kiley album.

DOWNLOAD THIS: “The Next Messiah”

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