Acid Tongue

Infobox Album
Name = Acid Tongue
Type = studio
Artist = Jenny Lewis


Released = September 23, 2008
Recorded = January 2008
Sound City Studios, Van Nuys
Genre = Indie
Alternative country
Length = 47:24
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = Jenny Lewis, Johnathan Rice, Dave Scher, Jason Lader
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A0i6zefqk1g56&emc=lm&m=638758&l=5&v=985749 link]
* "Blender" Rating|4|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=5287 link]
* "Chicago Sun-Times Rating|3.5|5 [http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2008/09/jenny_lewis_acid_tongue_warner.html link]
* "Creative Loafing" (positive) [http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/tampacalling/2008/09/13/jenny-lewis-drops-acid-tongue/ link]
* "Daily Trojan" (positive) [http://media.www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2008/09/16/Lifestyle/Jenny.Lewis.Offers.A.Taste.Of.Acid.Tongue-3433068.shtml link]
* "Detroit Free Press" Rating|3|5 [http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080914/ENT04/809140346 link]
* "Drowned In Sound" rating-10|6 [http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/13693 link]
* Pitchfork Media rating-10|6 [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/145784-jenny-lewis-acid-tongue link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5 [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article4765448.ece link]
* "The Sunday Times" Rating|3|5 [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article4775167.ece link]
* "The Times" Rating|4|5 [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article4765448.ece link]
Chronology =
Last album = "Rabbit Fur Coat"
(2006)
This album = "Acid Tongue"
(2008)
Next album =
Misc =

"Acid Tongue" is the second studio album by Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley. cite web | url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/142180-jenny-lewis-reveals-new-album-details | title=Jenny Lewis reveals new album details | author=Dave Maher | work=Pitchfork Media | date=2008-07-08 | accessdate=2008-07-14 ] It was released on September 23, 2008 via Warner Bros. Records. The album leaked to the Internet on September 9th.

Influences and recording

Lewis first began work on "Acid Tongue" after writing the title track. She attempted to work out an arrangement for Rilo Kiley's "Under the Blacklight". It didn't work, so Lewis started to write songs while touring and planning her second solo record. cite web | url=http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2008/09/jenny-lewis-fin.html | title=Jenny Lewis finds depth, intimacy beyond Rilo Kiley on 'Acid Tongue' | author=Greg Kot | work=Chicago Tribune | publisher=Tribune Company | date=2008-09-15 | accessdate=2008-09-16 ]

The album was recorded in just three weeks at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California. cite web | url=http://www.nme.com/news/jenny-lewis/38151 | title=Jenny Lewis announces new album details, tour | work=NME | publisher=IPC Media | date=2008-07-14 | accessdate=2008-07-14 ] The album was co-produced by Lewis's boyfriend Johnathan Rice, former Beachwood Sparks and All Night Radio member Dave Scher, and "Under the Blacklight" producer Jason Lader. cite web | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSN0525979920080906 | title=Rilo Kiley's Lewis unleashes Acid Tongue | author=Jill Menze | work=Reuters | publisher=Thomson Reuters | date=2008-09-05 | accessdate=2008-09-10 ] Lewis attempted to record as many of the songs live as possible. A source quoted by Entertainment Weekly said that the album "all sounds super natural, nice, and simple. Like it doesn't belong in any decade. It's just timeless." cite web | url=http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/02/jenny-lewis-tak.html | title=Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis recording new solo album | author=Shirley Halperin | work=Entertainment Weekly | publisher=Time Inc. | date=2008-02-06 | accessdate=2008-07-14 ] Lewis herself has said that it "rocks a little harder," in contrast to "Rabbit Fur Coat"'s folk rock influences. Lewis also used Rilo Kiley's "Under the Blacklight", which was notably polished compared to the band's earlier work, "as a reference point to go in the complete opposite direction".

According to the "Los Angeles Times", Lewis was inspired by house parties at Jonathan Wilson's Laurel Canyon home. cite web | url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-lewis24-2008sep24,0,2392685.story | title=Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis mixes it up on new CD | author=Ann Powers | work=Los Angeles Times | publisher=Tribune Company | date=2008-09-24 | accessdate=2008-09-27 ] "We'd go to these jams in the canyon. They're fantastic. Jonathan invites older session musicians from the real Laurel Canyon era, and younger people who are just starting their bands who happen to live in the canyon, and we all get together and sing Grateful Dead covers and J. J. Cale songs."

Lewis explained that every song she writes is "a response to the thing that I've written before". "It's even as simple as, 'OK, I've written a ballad, now I want to push myself to write something that's up tempo.' If I'm writing about myself, well, that subject can be tiresome, so then I focus on character-driven songs. So I'm always doing this back-and-forth just to keep myself interested."

Talking to "Nashville Scene", Lewis said that the songs "weren't written off-the-cuff, but they were definitely recorded, not carelessly, but with a real effort to capture a live feeling, particularly with the vocals". cite web | url=http://www.nashvillescene.com/2008-09-18/music/sincerity-sadness-and-glamour/ | title=Sincerity, sadness and glamour | author=Dustin Allen | work=Nashville Scene | publisher=New Times Media | date=2008-09-18 | accessdate=2008-09-18 ] Lewis continued, "To me, it's a big step in a different direction...and to be able to sink into the vocal take while the band was playing was a very liberating experience for me."

Content

The album's title track was described by Lewis as her "thinly veiled way of getting out of writing a strictly 'confessional' song," Lewis told Greg Kot of the "Chicago Tribune". "I may be a liar, or I may not be one." The song also referenced a childhood experience of Lewis', in which she experiened acid and LSD at the age of 14. cite web | url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jenny-lewis--my-private-traumas-942595.html | title=Jenny Lewis - My private traumas | author=Nick Hasted | work=The Independent | publisher=Independent News & Media | date=2008-09-26 | accessdate=2008-09-27 ]

"The Next Messiah", a nine-minute "ode to Barbara Streisand and the devil," was "tracked completely live, with all the transitions, and it's the most exciting thing I've ever been involved with in the studio. I wish the rest of the record had been more like that." The song is "actually three different songs that Johnathan Rice and myself wrote together," according to Lewis. "I happen to be a Barbra Streisand fan, and Barbra Streisand fancies a medley, so we discussed stringing the three songs together."

The album features a duet with Elvis Costello, "Carpetbaggers". [ cite web | url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003827374 | title=Billboard Bits: Oasis, Jenny Lewis, Randy/Janet Jackson | author=Jonathan Cohen | work=Billboard.com | publisher=Nielsen Company | date=2008-07-14 | accessdate=2008-07-14 ] She & Him's Zooey Deschanel provides backing vocals on a number of songs, while her bandmate M. Ward plays "a moody guitar part" on "Pretty Bird". Ward said that "Acid Tongue" is "the greatest record Jenny has ever made." [ cite web | url=http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2008/08/actress_guitarist_she_him.php | title=Actress & Guitarist: She & Him | author=Rudi Greenberg | work=Express (newspaper) | publisher=The Washington Post Company | date=2008-08-08 | accessdate=2008-08-12 ] There are a number of other collaborations on "Acid Tongue"; fellow Rilo Kiley member Jason Boesel, Davey Faragher of Costello's band The Imposters, Benji Hughes, Ana and Paz Lenchantin, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, and Jonathan Wilson all make contributions. The album features production credits from Lewis' boyfriend Johnathan Rice, Farmer Dave Scher, and Rilo Kiley producer Jason Lader.

Lewis's sister Leslie Lewis provides backing vocals on two tracks, while her father Eddie Gordon plays the bass harp and harmonica. "He was ill last year, so we started speaking to one another," Lewis told "The Independent". "There were no hard feelings. He just wasn't around. Every couple of years I'd get a postcard from the road – a picture of him standing next to a giant ice-sculpture of a crab, in Alaska. He was a very mysterious character. But I thought this was the right time to bring him in." "The Next Messiah" was influenced by her father. "When someone isn't around you create what you imagine your father might be – 'a race-car driver, a four-leaf clover'," Lewis explained. Lewis has said that a lot of her inspiration, for both "Acid Tongue" and previous work, comes from her parents. Lewis also told "The Independent", "I just don't know them very well. And I'm still trying to understand what happened [with the divorce] and why. It's this blank slate, I can't even remember what happened. But for some reason, these two people are so incredibly strange and funny and beautiful and messed up, that I want to keep writing about them... and maybe figure out who I am in the process."

Release

Entertainment Weekly announced that Lewis had been working on the album in February 2008.

Prior to "Acid Tongue"'s release, Lewis allowed listeners to hear the title track by calling the toll-free telephone number 1-888-717-ACID. [ cite web | url=http://stereogum.com/archives/video/new-jenny-lewis-acid-tongue-acid-tongue-album-art_012891.html | title=New Jenny Lewis - "Acid Tongue" & Acid Tongue Album Art | work=Stereogum | date=2008-08-07 | accessdate=2008-08-12 ] The song was later replaced by a recording announcing two "secret" performances in September, including a password and website to obtain tickets. Additionally, several videos were put up on Lewis' official YouTube page. [youtube|JennyLewis|Jenny Lewis] The videos show Lewis (or band mates) at home being visited by Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, who has arrived with balloons to listen to the new album. Ben is told that the album isn't out yet, but Lewis agrees to let him hear "just one song". This is followed by a recording of the title track "Acid Tongue."

On September 9, the entire album was made available in streaming format on Lewis' official MySpace page. [ cite web | url=http://buzzsugar.com/1970109 | title=Album Review: Jenny Lewis's Acid Tongue | work=BuzzSugar.com | publisher=Sugar Inc. | date=2008-09-09 | accessdate=2008-09-10 ] Though not technically downloadable, it was quickly accessed through other means and made available through file sharing.

Lewis toured in support of the album's release, including an appearance at the Austin City Limits Festival and opening for Conor Oberst.

Acid Tongue debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, with 21,000 copies sold, and at number 55 on the UK official Top 100 Albums chart.Hasty, Katie. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003704920 "Ward Helps Deschanel Find Her Voice"] "Billboard", January 31, 2008.]

Critical reception

"Acid Tongue" has received generally favorable reviews, scoring a 73% on review aggregator Metacritic. [ cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/lewisjenny/acidtongue | title=Acid Tongue | work=Metacritic | publisher=CNET Networks | accessdate=2008-09-27 ]

Creative Loafing said that while "Rabbit Fur Coat" "glided through an Appalachian dream world", Lewis "stomps her boots while exploring similar terrain" on "Acid Tongue". cite web | url=http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/tampacalling/2008/09/13/jenny-lewis-drops-acid-tongue/ | title=Jenny Lewis drops Acid Tongue | author=Wade Tatangelo | work=Creative Loafing | publisher=Creative Loafing, Inc. | date=2008-09-13 | accessdate=2008-09-14 ] The review continued that while the album "includes plenty of quirky meditations on lost love that recall her previous adventures, [...] well-placed jolts give "Acid Tongue" greater balance, a component that's lacking on "Rabbit Fur Coat." According to "The Sunday Times", "the results are magnificent, [...] but occasionally they are a shaky misstep." [ cite web | url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article4775167.ece | title=Jenny Lewis: Acid Tongue - The Sunday Times review | author=Mark Edwards | work=The Sunday Times | publisher=News International | date=2008-09-21 | accessdate=2008-09-20 ] "Chicago Sun-Times" writer Jim DeRogatis called "Acid Tongue" "sensual and entrancing." cite web | url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2008/09/jenny_lewis_acid_tongue_warner.html | title=Jenny Lewis, "Acid Tongue" (Warner Bros.) | author=Jim DeRogatis | work=Chicago Sun-Times | publisher=Sun-Times Media Group | date=2008-09-30 | accessdate=2008-10-01 ] The Daily Trojan labeled the tracks as "psychedelic, occasionally sexy, but always timeless", although noting that the album "lacks a thematic focus that can be found on every other album Lewis has released". cite web | url=http://media.www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2008/09/16/Lifestyle/Jenny.Lewis.Offers.A.Taste.Of.Acid.Tongue-3433068.shtml | title=Jenny Lewis offers a taste of Acid Tongue | author=Jennifer Tang | work=Daily Trojan | publisher=University of Southern California | date=2008-09-16 | accessdate=2008-09-17 ]

It was also noted that Lewis' "delicately seductive vocals are more versatile", with the Detroit Free Press stating that her voice "smoothly mixes classic country with pop and indie-rock, Lewis is as adept on the ballads as she is on the rave-ups." [ cite web | url=http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080914/ENT04/809140346 | title=Fresh thoughts on new music | author=Martin Bandyke | work=Detroit Free Press | publisher=Gannett Company | date=2008-09-14 | accessdate=2008-09-14 ] "The Times" considered Lewis' songwriting "leagues ahead of anything that she has done in the past" and her vocals sound "as though she means it". cite web | url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article4765448.ece | title=The Big CD: Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue | author=Sophie Harris | work=The Times | publisher=News International | date=2008-09-19 | accessdate=2008-09-19 ] DeRogatis pointed out that "Lewis' impressive strength as both a singer and a songwriter is that she makes every listener feel as if her music was crafted just for them."

Pitchfork Media said that while "Acid Tongue" is "immediately pleasurable," the album's downfall is that "Lewis does such a good job of nailing choice sounds and styles from pop's past that you can't help getting reeled in right away; only upon later reflection do you realize that much of her success lies in evoking something else great rather than achieving a greatness more uniquely her own." cite web | url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/145784-jenny-lewis-acid-tongue | title=Acid Tongue | author=Joshua Love | work=Pitchfork Media | date=2008-09-24 | accessdate=2008-09-28 ] The review continued, "In these straitjacketed settings, Lewis' considerable strengths as a lyricist and performer just aren't given sufficient room to fully emerge." "Time" noted that "Acid Tongue" "sprawl with misplaced ambition" and that only the title track sticks. [ cite web | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1844529,00.html | title=5 things you should know about... | author=Andrea Sachs | work=Time | publisher=Time Inc. | date=2008-09-25 | accessdate=2008-09-28 ] "Acid Tongue" as also slated for its "hip-hop-like roster of unnecessary cameos. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward of She and Him make sense, but Elvis Costello sounds intrusive during his duet on "Carpetbaggers," while the black Crowes' Chris Robinson is just superfluous."

"Filter" referred to the album's title track as "simply beautiful, causing goosebumps to the arms of even the toughest man. [...] It's rather deep, despite its simplicity, a difficult task to say the least." [ cite web | url=http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=17491&c=6 | title=Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue MP3 | work=Filter | publisher=Filter Creative Group | date=2008-09-15 | accessdate=2008-09-16 ] It has also been called "a prime example of Lewis' simplistic genius." "The Times" said "the verses in the title track tickle and tease so that you are practically salivating for the chorus."

Track listing

# "Black Sand" — 2:53
# "Pretty Bird" — 3:46
# "The Next Messiah" — 8:47
# "Bad Man's World" — 3:40
# "Acid Tongue" — 3:54
# "See Fernando" — 3:33
# "Godspeed" — 4:32
# "Carpetbaggers" (with Elvis Costello) — 3:33
# "Trying My Best to Love You" — 3:07
# "Jack Killed Mom" — 5:27
# "Sing a Song for Them" — 4:09
# "Pelican Bay" — 3:09 (iTunes bonus track)

Select independent record stores also gave away a 7" single of "The Next Messiah", split between the two sides of the record.

Charts and certifications

"Acid Tongue" entered the "Billboard" 200 at number 24 with approximately 21,000 copies sold. cite web | url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003857662 | title=Metallica scores third week atop Billboard 200 | author=Katie Hasty | work=Billboard | publisher=Nielsen Company | date=2008-10-01 | accessdate=2008-10-01 ]

Personnel

* Production — Farmer Dave Scher, Jason Lader, Jenny Lewis, Johnathan Rice
* Artwork design — Jenny Lewis, Pierre De Reeder
* Photography — Autumn de Wilde

*Black Sand
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals, piano, vibraphone
** Barbara Gruska — drums
** Jason Lader — bass
** Ana Lenchantin — cello
** Paz Lenchantin — violin
** Wes Precourt — violin
*Pretty Bird
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals
** Barbara Gruska — drums
** Johnathan Rice — background vocals
** Farmer Dave Scher — background vocals
** M. Ward — background vocals, guitar (acoustic and electric)
** Jonathan Wilson — background vocals, bass
*The Next Messiah
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals
** Jason Boesel — drums
** Vanesa Corbala — background vocals
** Zooey Deschanel — background vocals
** Davey Faragher — bass
** Blake Mills — electric guitar
** Morgan Nagler — whispered vocals
** Johnathan Rice — background vocals, acoustic guitar
** Chris Robinson — background vocals
** Farmer Dave Scher — background vocals
** Jonathan Wilson — background vocals
*Bad Man's World
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals, piano
** Barbara Gruska — drums
** Jason Lader — bass
** Ana Lenchantin — cello
** Paz Lenchantin — violin
** Wes Precourt — violin
** Farmer Dave Scher — organ
*Acid Tongue
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals, acoustic guitar
** Johnathan Rice — background vocals
** Chris Robinson — background vocals
** Farmer Dave Scher — background vocals
** Jonathan Wilson — background vocals
*See Fernando
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals
** Jason Boesel — drums
** Vanesa Corbala — background vocals
** Davey Faragher — bass
** Leslie Lewis — background vocals
** Johnathan Rice — acoustic and electric guitar
** Farmer Dave Scher — steel guitar
*Godspeed
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals, piano
** Barbara Gruska — drums
** Ana Lenchantin — cello
** Paz Lenchantin — violin
** Wes Precourt — violin
** Jonathan Wilson — bass
*Carpetbaggers
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals
** Jason Boesel — drums
** Vanesa Corbala — background vocals
** Elvis Costello — vocals
** Zooey Deschanel — background vocals
** Davey Faragher — bass
** Blake Mills — electric guitar
** Johnathan Rice — acoustic guitar
*Trying My Best to Love You
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals, piano
** Vanesa Corbala — background vocals
** Zooey Deschanel — background vocals
** Ana Lenchantin — cello
** Leslie Lewis — background vocals
** Paz Lenchantin — violin
** Wes Precourt — violin
*Jack Killed Mom
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals, piano
** Jason Boesel — drums, tambourine
** Vanesa Corbala — background vocals
** Zooey Deschanel — background vocals
** Davey Faragher — bass
** Eddie Gordon — harmonica
** Benji Hughes — spoken word vocals
** Blake Mills — background vocals
** Farmer Dave Scher — omnichord
** Tod Adrian Wisenbaker — electric guitar
*Sing a Song For Them
** Jenny Lewis — main vocals, piano, triangle
** Barbara Gruska — drums
** Jason Lader — bass
** Ana Lenchantin — cello
** Paz Lenchantin — violin
** Blake Mills — electric guitar
** Wes Precourt — violin
** Johnathan Rice — acoustic guitar
** Jenny's Birthday Party Patrons — group vocals

References