Many of you may or may not be familar with Jenny Lewis, the beautiful frontwoman of rising indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Without question, the band has put out two very solid albums over these past few years, and broke into the mainstream with their third (and weakest) record called "More Adventurous". However, with the airplay they have been getting, the eccentric Jenny Lewis has been experiencing a slow rise to fame. Not quite a household name, but adored by many.
And thus, the side projects ensue. A couple members from the band have gone onto work on their other band "The Elected", and now Jenny Lewis has decided to take a different approach. She has teamed up with The Watson Twins to back her up on her solo debut. Now, I have always seen something unique about this woman. Her voice is nothing short of amazing...with great range. Her lyrics are intelligent, and the way they are delivered are impeccable. Her initial soft-spoken personality and non chalant delivery of her words are intriguing to witness, especially as she casually drops a swear word or two amongst the most beautiful songs. Sung so solemnly, she's truly one of a kind. I had the chance to witness her in action with Rilo Kiley during their tour with Coldplay. It was somewhat sad to see the lack of attention they were given, but just seeing her perform was a nice experience, even though I could hardly see her from my 50 dollar lawn seats.
But now, as she breaks off on her own momentarily, the question is...is she capable of making exceptionally primarily on her own? The answer to this is a resounding yes.
One thing I was quite uncertain about was what exactly this album was going to sound like. To be honest, I was initially a bit surprised. This album mized many elements and genres, but the two that reveal themselves the most are heavy gospel, alt.country, and folk rock influences. The Watson Twins providing back up vocals that mend perfectly with Lewis's voice and chords.
The album starts out with the accapella "Run Devil Run", which serves as an intro to the album and nothing more. Sounds very much like a good ole' southern gospel track, and it's pulled off very nicely here. This leads into the track "The Big Guns", a track that reminds me of even an old Johnny Cash song only with female vocals.
From here we go into "Rise Up With Fists", which I see as one of the strongest tracks on this album. Her wonderful lyrics shining throughout:
"You can wake up sounder under the knife, and you can wake up sounder if you get analyzed"
The chorus once sounds very much gospel, as does most of the track, as in the chorus the many voices mend into one to sing beautifully "But for the grace of God, go I"
The album does not slow up, as each track provides a beautiful listen. The very catchy country track "Happy" once again reminds me of something Johnny Cash would do if he were a sexy female. Sometimes she even uses her voice the same way he would do in "Walk the Line". Just her and her guitar throughtout most of the song.
"The Charging Sky" and "Melt Your Heart" remind me of Rilo Kiley in a way, with gospel thrown in once more. Her lyrics once again shining through, in "The Charging Sky" as she sings:
"For the Evangelist, the Communist, the Lefts and the Rights
And the hypocrites and the Jesuits and the blacks and the whites
It's in the belly of the beast
In the Atlanta streets
Or up in Laurel Canyon
The verge of Middle East"
"You Are What You Love" seems like perfect single material. It's the poppiest track on the album, with a catchy chorus chanting "You are what you love, and now what loves you back, that's why I'm here on your doorstep pleading for you to take me back". This more or less a straighforward loss of love song, but she pulls it off nicely.
"Rabbit Fur Coat" is the title track, and is once again just Lewis and her guitar, this time playing the same chords continuously for a good five minutes as she weaves an intriguing folk track, telling a story.
Now comes another one of the best tracks on the album, a cover of Travelling Wilbury's "Handle with Care" with guest vocals from Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Coner Oberst of Bright Eyes. A very pubeat and remarkable track, with both Ben and Coner's voices fitting in perfectly.
The album continues with the epic gospel track, "Born Secular". I know "epic" and "gospel" probably don't seem to quite fit together, but it's true. It's a slow tempo, beautiful track consisting of a lot of piano and organ and Lewis showing off her voice like never before with the Watson Twins sending out prolonged "aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhs" in the background for a good three minutes as the song comes to a winding close. A truly soothing track.
The album closes with "It wasn't me" , another somewhat Rilo Kiley sounding song that doesn't really stick out that well following a track as amazing as the previous. There is a short little outro afterwards which is basically just a thirty second accapella singing of the track "Happy" that was on here earlier.
Overall, I would say Jenny Lewis has really put herself out there as a proven solo artist. She broke away from Rilo Kiley temporarily to make this, and in many ways it exceeds anything the band itself has ever put together. She is the star of the band without question and now she is a star on her own as well, and with time I think she could very well be a household name amongst fans of all kinds of music, be it country, gospel, rock, indie rock, you name it...she has something very everyone.
Standout tracks:
Handle with Care
Born Secular
Rise Up With Fists
The Big Guns
The Charging Sky
