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Simple piano/bass head-bob 'Sing a Song' closes, reaffirming that Jenny Lewis' tongue lashings can't be matched for cheap thrills.
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Acid Tongue is glossed up at the expense of Lewis' charming flaws.
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The scrappy indie bite of Lewis’ early work may be gone and you won’t find much in the way of Marshall’s emotional bloodletting. But even if it’s likely to cost Lewis the affections of online tastemakers, she looks set to charm an increasingly large audience for years to come.
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The problem then is one of staying power--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.
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Acid Tongue is imperfect, but nevertheless slightly more than halfway to astounding.
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Particularly by front-loading the album with the bulk of its wayward experiments, the overall momentum of Acid Tongue is severely stalled by the time the listener approaches the stronger material.
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Too much of Acid Tongue ignores what makes Lewis a compelling artist in favor of empty, not entirely successful style hopping.
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To sustain her muse beyond short-term thrill-seeking, a little more focus, restraint and better pacing is certainly required. That said, Acid Tongue is still-peppered with acts of greatness, which will no doubt grow further in stature through successive spins.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 23 out of 28
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Mixed: 3 out of 28
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Negative: 2 out of 28
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Sep 29, 2011
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Mar 15, 2011
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KristinYMar 31, 2009