Acid Tongue

When I heard Jenny Lewis had a new album I got it right away. Her first album, Rabbit Fur Coat, is one my favorites from the past few years. So I was a little disappointed the first time I listened to her follow-up, Acid Tongue, but after a few more spins I can say that it is a good record. It just may not be as good as Rabbit Fur Coat, which is extraordinary.

Rabbit Fur Coat was very gospel and honky-tonk flavored, while Acid Tongue has more textures. It starts with Lewis singing a sweet soprano on Black Sand, but it becomes apparent that the lyrics are very morbid: "I fell in love with a beautiful boy on the black sand. He took me away I was never the same on the black sand. He said, 'Who's going to love you when you're buried underground?' ooh ooh, on the black sand." The second track is the delicate Pretty Bird, which could be another death metaphor, when Lewis sings, "Pretty bird, why are you so still?"

Lewis has many guest stars participating. Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes joins her for The Next Messiah, an eight-minute plus medley of three songs that recalls something out of the seventies, and would be perfect for playing on an eight-track. Elvis Costello teams with her for Carpetbaggers, a throwback to old Appalachia about the exploiters of the South during the Civil War days. And actress Zooey Deschanel is a back up singer on several of the cuts.

A few of the songs recall Rabbit Fur Coat, such as See Fernando, a foot-stomper, and Jack Killed Mom, a funky story-song. But a few cuts show an expansion of ambition, and are elegant and sophisticated. The title song, with references to drugs (acid tongue is not a person with a sharp wit), is plaintive and beautiful, and Bad Man's World is haunting (I've found myself humming it the past few days).

They always say a singer's first record is often their best, because they've had their whole lives to write it, while the second one is bound to be a disappointment. That may be the case here (although Lewis has also written songs for her band Rilo Kiley). But the disappointment is only minor, and lessens with each listen.