The Acid Tongue blog

Part three of three! Your suffering has ended! Ha.

First of all, I just have to say that Acid Tongue is AMAZING. It's less studio and more Jenny's-really-playing-this-in-your-living-room recording. It's rougher, edgier and Jenny's all grown-up all over again.

The title song, "Acid Tongue", is a perfect example of Jenny's growth as a songwriter. It's also a great example of just how meagerly edited the album was in the studio, if at all. Every song on this album is absolutely delightful, even though some of the subject material may be dark (and somewhat humorous), especially in "Jack Killed Mom" (written by The White Stripes' Jack White), this matured side of Jenny is beautifully channelled through the music.

Aside from "Jack Killed Mom", Jenny Lewis and her new love singer Jonathan Rice wrote the entire album together. Jason Boesel of Rilo Kiley also accompanied Jenny and Rice on their Acid Tongue tour and in the studio. 

"Acid Tongue" also, as I had read in an article from The Independent, was also about Jenny's first acid trip at 14. Click on the link to The Independent and you'll get the article I read.

Jenny's dad also plays harmonica on the album.

Knowing that these songs mean so much to the artist, it makes it even better to listen to. Songs like the ones heard on Acid Tongue, Rabbit Fur Coat and even on Rilo Kiley's albums, allow you to get into the songwriter's head(s). You feel so many emotions when you hear the words, feel the music and make the connections. It's her songs, her music, her life that makes her so interesting and so relatable and so completely loveable as an artist. 

"Carpetbaggers", a collaboration with Elvis Costello, is a wild ride that's fun and upbeat, much like "See Fernando." "Pretty Bird" is a slow, slithering song that crawls through your ears and infects your mind with images, most notably "real green eyes." 

Altogether, the songs Jenny wrote (along with the help of Rice) and the way she performs them (along with the help of Rice, Deschanel, Ward, etc. on her Acid Tongue Tour) is a beautiful and enjoyable thing. I recognize Jenny isn't for everyone, but I definitely think she's worth the listen for anybody. Who knows, you may find that you know exactly what's she's crooning and wailing about.

Yeah, I just put that up! Ha.