Jenny Lewis [Official Site, MySpace] gets more intimate on her second solo release Acid Tongue. It has a soulful twang that matches her grassroots storytelling lyrics. It maintains an air of relevance – you won’t have a premonition that it’s going to be dated in five minutes, and it doesn’t in the least feel geographically influenced. And if that doesn’t sell you, when she slows it down, the album transitions into a bluesy seductive affair.

The album is sort of a musical hodgepodge, without much flow from song to song, but Lewis’ vocals keep it tied together. There’s a good amount of acoustic and electric guitar overlap, which gives the quieter songs a dark vibe, and the faster ones a raw perkiness.

It’s nice to listen to Lewis sweetly belt lyrics about having diamonds in her eyes in “Trying My Best to Love You,” and then transition into a sultry observer/victim in “Bad Man’s World.” There’s an occasional male vocal that pops into a few of the songs – that’s a warning – it’s a bit startling.

“Jack Killed Mom” is a modern day “Son of a Preacher Man.” “Sing A Song For Them” is a lyrical cliché and seems like an afterthought addition to the album. The beats of “See Fernando” make chair dancing as second nature as procrastination.

Verdict? A decent addition to any digital library, and a pleasant alternative to the vocals of Alicia Keys.

Score: 3/5

“The Next Messiah” [mp3]
“Godspeed” [mp3]

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