Acid Tongue | 
 enlarge | Artist: Jenny Lewis
Label: Warner Bros.
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $7.85
You Save: $6.13 (44%)
New (45) Used (13) from $7.50
Rating:  25 reviews
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 4.9 x 0.3 x 0.2
MPN: 508668
UPC: 093624986201
EAN: 0093624986201
Release Date: September 23, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Black Sand | | • | Pretty Bird | | • | The Next Messiah | | • | Bad Man's World | | • | Acid Tongue | | • | See Fernando | | • | Godspeed | | • | Carpetbaggers - Jenny Lewis, Rice, Johnathan | | • | Trying My Best to Love You | | • | Jack Killed Mom | | • | Sing a Song for Them |
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Product Description
Femme fatale Jenny Lewis has never sounded so passionate and her songs never so hard-hitting and acerbic as on her aptly titled solo disk, Acid Tongue. The album follows 2006's Rabbit Fur Coat (which Spin named among the best albums of that year) and a series of acclaimed albums with indie rock fave Rilo Kiley. Featuring collaborations with A Band Called She & Him and guest appearances by Elvis Costello and Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Acid Tongue proves to be wicked good.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 A good buzz ... November 10, 2008
Gregory W. Locke (Seattle, WA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"I wear a ponytail like a waterfall / Loudspeaker cause a landslide / I got a room key and a Johnny / A good buzz, feelin' alright," sings Jenny Lewis on the swingin' "See Fernando," the immediate standout track from her second solo album, Acid Tongue. Those rhythmic one-liners, penned while touring for her breakout debut, 2006's Rabbit Fur Coat, say an awful lot about the Rilo Kiley front woman. She's somewhat of a girly girl; she likes rock n' roll and isn't afraid of its time-tested cliches; she's got a man (singer/songwriter Johnathan Rice) and wont flinch at the chance to tease her listeners about closed doors; and she likes to shamelessly knock a few back whenever possible. Whether that's the real Lewis or not hardly matters, it's her stage and studio persona, and it - along with her gift-from-heaven voice - has brought her a long way in the last five years.
Rabbit Fur Coat put the Lewis namesake on the map, elevating her from her longtime standing as the fire-haired indie-rock darling who fronts Rilo Kiley to the level of respected adult solo artist who gets consistent plan on NPR. It must be said that using the term "solo," however, has never felt right with Lewis. Rabbit Fur Coat not only prominently featured two backing vocalists (those creepy Watson Twin gals) on every song, but also M. Ward, Mike Mogis, Rice, Conor Oberst, Ben Gibbard, Jason Boesel and many others. Likewise, Acid Tongue features a cast of heavy hitters, including Elvis Costello, Rice, Paz Lenchantin, Ward, Zooey Deschanel, Chris Robinson, Benji Hughes, Farmer Dave Scher and, well, many others. But that's okay; nothing wrong with calling in the pros. The personality Lewis put into both her writing and vocal style prevail over all sidenotes on Acid Tongue more than ever, positioning the still-budding lyricist at the center of the sound, loud and pretty, the lovechild of Dusty Springfield, J.J. Cale and The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed. Look at those influences; the word here, clearly, is "timeless."
A very even mix of instantly hummable ballads, country rockers and mid-tempo pop tunes fill Acid Tongue's 11-song tracklist, kicking off with "Black Sand," a piano-laced ballad that gets right to it, feeling like a fragile voiced hook from beginning to end. The arrangement here, and on all of the album's ballads, is simple, subtle and organic - likely recorded live-in-studio (or at least made to sound as such). Lewis' voice is at the center ... but we'll stop saying that, her voice is always at the center, even on all those great Rilo Kiley records. Next up is "Pretty Bird," a mid-tempo blue-eyed soul tune that makes for a slow start to this dirt road acid trip. No worries, though, a little three-part tune called "The Next Messiah" hits next. This song is, without doubt, the hardest Lewis and her crew have yet worked together in the studio. Clocking in at nearly nine minutes and featuring 11 musicians and multiple vocalists, the song is made epic from the intro, featuring a swaggering rhythm section and Lewis strutting her stuff over loud, sexy guitar riffs and a star-studded chorus of singers with half of Lewis' vocal chops. Great in concept, "The Next Messiah" is hardly the kind of song that anyone is ever going to skip directly to or put on a mixtape. Mostly, this song was made for three reasons: 1) fun in the studio with hip musician friends; 2) something different, something ambitious; 3) made for the stage and buzzed crowds. It's a good tune, surely, but probably would've been better suited as the final cut on the album.
The abovementioned "See Fernando" is the hands down overall highlight here (and one of the best songs of the year), but the record's title track, "Godspeed" and "Sing a Song For Them" make for some of Lewis' very best work yet, ranking this a commendable follow-up to her much loved debut. The songs - again, all taking the timeless-or-bust route - all have their own personality and the musicianship here is better than on said debut. The cohesiveness and instant accessibility of Rabbit Fur Coat, however, isn't here; Acid Tongue is a sultry soul-meets-folk-rock album that comes off like more of a dusty 60s collection of 7" singles than, say, a Laura Nyro front-to-back experience. All this means for the listener is that a little more time and fortitude is needed to get to know this stellar set of organic folk-rock. Hardly a problem when you have an angel-voiced country heart singing about room keys and lying about acid trips and murders over always solid, always rustic arrangements. Here it is, the sound of Fall 2008. (Greg Locke)
 six stars indeed November 4, 2008
silverlakerawk (los angeles, ca)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
i'm speechless. i didnt know it could be so good again. and again. thanks jenny.
 Doesn't quite gell October 27, 2008
Dimension (Canada)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley.
I instantly fell in love with "Rabbit Fur Coat", but to me this feels like an album consisting of bunch of b-sides, without any cohesion or purpose.
While Rabbit Fur Coat was a natural, flowing, cohesive concept album about the personal,social and relgious ILLUSIONS in life, the concept of "Acid Toungue" doesn't really work-- perhaps I just don't get it but I don't think there is a lot to get here "to get"
The albums open with the really weak track of "Black Sand" and has many other weak moments including "Pretty Bird", "Bad Man's World" and the embarassing "See Fernando".
Fair enough- this album "sounds good", her voice is beautiful and the production is good but there's nothing memorable or intellectualy challenging here (as was Rabbit Fur Coat)
I'm giving it three stars because it's Jenny Lewis and nothing more.
Considering all he great work with Rilo Kiley and solo with Rabbit Fur Coat, I don't think this album will remembered as one of her great peices of work.
Beautiful Trip. October 26, 2008
John Morgan (Way down South, USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great album. For me, not so much a social enjoyment but more a solitary listening. I enjoy it from beginning to end. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall during the recording sessions! I think I told everyone who would listen to buy this!
For an obsessive fan, or new comer, GREAT ALBUM October 20, 2008
Sarah Slonecki
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This album, though different from her previous solo album, yet again showcases her wonderful voice and is full of lyric after great lyric, as is usual with any Jenny Lewis song. And it grows on you with each listen, which is a definite plus.
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