After the surprising alt-country feel of Rilo Kiley lead singer Jenny Lewis’s debut solo album, RABBIT FUR COAT, her band released their most eclectic and self-assured album, 2007’s UNDER THE BLACKLIGHT. Lewis’s second solo album, ACID TONGUE, neatly synthesizes the best aspects of both those albums with a newfound breeziness of spirit. The 11 songs swing easily from the rockabilly twang of “The Next Messiah” to the sensuous, swirling “Bad Man’s World,” with the soulful piano ballad, “Trying My Best To Love You,” and the noisy rock and roll clatter of “Jack Killed Mom” particularly standing out. Elvis Costello appears on the title track and “Carpetbagger,” returning the favor of Lewis’s guest vocals on his 2008 album MOMOFUKU. In fact, that Costello album, recorded quickly and with a minimum of studio trickery, is as much of a touchstone for the loose, live-in-the-studio sound of ACID TONGUE as any of Lewis’s other recent projects. Other guests include Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, and Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward of She and Him

Tracklisting
1. Black Sand
2. Pretty Bird
3. The Next Messiah
4. Bad Man’s World
5. Acid Tongue
6. See Fernando
7. Godspeed
8. Carpetbaggers
9. Trying My Best To Love You
10. Jack Killed Mom
11. Sing A Song For Them

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.70) – 4 stars out of 5 — “There’s plenty of storminess on her excellent second solo album, whose songs mix muscular guitar rock with soul balladeering and chamber pop.”

Entertainment Weekly (p.76) – “‘Pretty Bird’ recalls Linda Ronstadt circa ‘75, while ‘Jack Killed Mom’ may be the best thing the White Stripes never wrote.”

Alternative Press (p.155) – 4.5 stars out of 5 — “[S]ensual slow jams ‘Black Sand’ and ‘Bad Man’s World’ summon a summer-night ambiance of cooing siren vocals, lulling beats, chopping strings and piano plunks.”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) – 4 stars out of 5 — “[A] mix of enigmatic lyrics beatifully sung and immaculately arranged….The cherry on top is Elvis Costello’s forceful guest vocal on ‘Carpetbaggers.’”

Blender (Magazine) (p.82) – 4 stars out of 5 — “[T]he 11 songs encompass Southern-gothic folk, Appalachian blues stomps and ‘The Next Messiah,’ an eight-minute, Who-style rock mini-opera.”

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