Jenny Lewis

One Liner: Kind of funky indie rock stuff with a great voice

Wikipedia Genre: Indie rock, alternative country, indie folk
Home: Born in Vegas, came up in California

Poster Position: 6

Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  Lewis was once part of Rilo Kiley, an indie rock band that I never listened to at all, but rings a bell as a band I've heard about before.  She was also a child actor in some sweet movies, like Troop Beverly Hills and The Wizard (the Fred Savage flick about a video gamer).  She kind of looks like the wife in The League, the one who also plays fantasy football with the boys, and is pretty damn raunchy right along with them all.  They are not the same person though.

She came to ACL back in 2014, so I'm not going to fully recreate the wheel here.  Her early albums were kind of a conversational country twang indie music.  The most popular song on Spotify from back then was a Jewel-ish revival from back when people knew who Jewel was.  And that is not meant as a slight - I was a huge nerd for Jewel back in the day.  I even bought her poetry book.  Maybe I should not have admitted that.  3.2 million streams.

Kind of cool - definitely Jewel-esque, definitely country-ish.  She covered the excellent Travelling Wilburies' "Handle With Care," and therefore wins a large pile of my respect and admiration:

I like this music.  She has a really nice voice and her first album (Rabbit Fur Coat) is kind of a fine line between country and indie keyboard soul.  Lots of really nice harmonies with the Watson Twins, although the cover of the album makes me think of those scary twins from The Shining, so I've decided that the Watson Twins are evil.

The second album (2008's Acid Tongue) is more alt-country and indie rock and her voice really sounds like Jewel on some tracks.  I promise I'm not obsessed with Jewel.  Anymore.  Whatever.  But Acid Tongue includes an 8 minute oddity called the Next Messiah that transitions through about 6 different styles, and then she has Elvis Costello on there for one song ("Carpetbaggers"), which is a fun addition.  The album ping pongs between rockers and slower torch-ish songs.  While I like it, I also know that all of my old Sheryl Crow and Norah Jones CDs now collect dust in a closet in my guest bedroom, so I doubt that this one will stick in my collection.

Before she was out there on her own, she was in a band called Rilo Kiley.  It is still a country-ish sound, but kind of not too.    Their top song on Spotify ("Portions for Foxes") is definite indie rock, and is nice.  It feels like music made for soundtracks about people falling in and out of love.  10.9 million streams.

Definite mid-90's post-grunge vibe going on there.

2014's The Voyager is a solid album.  I thought that I had already reviewed it previously, but now I find nothing in my archives for it, which is too bad.  But several of these songs are very catchy, memorable indie rock songs.  The top one is "Just One of the Guys," with 12.3 million streams.

Now that I watch that video again, I stinking know I have reviewed this before - I totally remember seeing this video, with Brie Larson and Kristen Stewart and Anne Hathaway. playing as background band and Beastie Boys impersonators.  Good video.  Good tune.  Still can't find where I wrote about it.  Dammit.  But these tunes are all really good stuff - tuneful, kinda funky, lyrically interesting - I dig it.

Then she released 2019's On the Line.  The freaking cover of this album is like a moth to a flame for me.  I literally just keep getting sucked into it over there on my second monitor anytime this album is playing.  The instinctual reaction is for my eyes to just need to make sure I have every nuance of the cover fully memorized.  I apologize, but its true.  As for the music itself, its damn good.  The top song is more of a cross between Sheryl Crow and Lucinda Williams - "Red Bull & Hennessy," which has 2.7 million streams.

Buncha famous people in that video.  And the guitar solo part there near the end is salty.  Good song.  The whole album is good stuff, although a few moments bug for weird reasons, like the "doowitdoodoooodoooo" pieces in "Wasted Youth."  Shouldn't matter, but I don't want to hear that song (and that one super sounds like Sheryl Crow).  On the other hand, the languid pace and rock beat of "Do Si Do" wrap me in each time.  And she mentions the devil being in Austin in "Party Clown," which is kind of entertaining.  And "Taffy" kills the buzz, could do without.  But then "Rabbit Hole" comes on and its so clean and pretty that I'm sucked in again.  Up and down album, but I'd say that I like it.

Now, will I go see it?  If the schedule had worked out, totally.  But with The Raconteurs and Guns N' Roses at the same stage, with this as the gap filler, but across the park?  I'll likely stay over at the AmEx stage and get closer so I can see Slash smash his axe across Axl's back when they inevitably break down mid-set.