Jenny Lewis
Acid Tongue
Rough Trade/ Remote Control


There's no two ways about it - Jenny Lewis is a damn sexy singer. Her enticing, come-hither vocals have been the highlight of several albums by alt-country rockers Rilo Kiley and Lewis makes even strong men weak at the knees with her tales of lost loves and dark sexuality.

With this in mind, on paper at least, 'Acid Tongue' should be a killer disc. Lewis' first solo album proper (not counting her 2006 collaboration with the Watson Twins, 'Rabbit Fur Coat'), 'Acid Tongue' features some staggeringly impressive collaborators including Mr. Elvis Costello himself, actress/ singer Zooey Deschanel and Paz Lenchantin. However, while it's a perfectly serviceable and, above all else, nice slice of alt-country, 'Acid Tongue' doesn't come close to being the revelation that it should be.

A lot of the problem is that Lewis can't work out what she wants to be. With Rilo Kiley she has a band dynamic to work with, and their particular brand of alt-country by way of indie pop works well, tempering the failings of both genres by the nature of their fusion. Here however, she's all over the shop. While the opening Black Sand works nicely, showcasing Lewis' knack with a pretty melody over a sparse backing, the rest of the record sways and bucks in regards to quality and consistency.

Too often she wants to be a genuine country torch singer (see the unadventurous title track) when, in reality, we know that she's capable of so much more. That's not to say that there's not good material here - the 8-minute The Last Messiah is a bucket load of fun, as is See Fernando, and Sing A Song For Them proves that she can pull off some of the best ballads in alt-country - just that it doesn't all hold together particularly well. Hopefully Lewis will take the lessons learned on 'Acid Tongue' and produce a truly stunning follow up. In the meantime, this is serviceable, but not her best work.

Patrick Lang