It seems lately that I’ve been filling in the gaps. Bands or musicians who tickled me pink in the past, well, I felt the need to go make sure I had everything they had to offer.

This may have not been the best of ideas.

The most recent gap filled is in the catalog of Jenny Lewis.

My affair with Jenny Lewis started poorly. Namely, “Does he love you?” was on a mix CD a friend made for me. I thought it was boring. I then categorized both Rilo Kiley and Jenny Lewis as “Boring”.

Many years later i finally decided to try out some Rilo Kiley. This was during my study abroad in Denmark, and now Rilo Kiley is my personal soundtrack to Denmark. That translates to Rilo Kiley seriously stealing my soul for those 4.5 months.

I moved on to Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins‘ “Rabbit Furcoat“. And it was good. Amazingly good. If someone would have described that album to me prior to my listening to it, I would have been skeptical at best. Jenny Lewis, mostly acoustic music, singing folk/alt-country songs, with twin gospel harmonists accompanying?

I’m glad I didn’t get the opportunity to become skeptical.

So next on my acquisition list was Jenny Lewis’ “Acid Tongue“. I was expecting the same as “Rabbit Furcoat”.

It’s not the same. It’s not even close.

I mean, it’s not terrible. It doesn’t leave me wishing for unconsciousness. But it’s not good either. The music is overly simple, and so is the singing. The lyrics don’t strike me as particularly powerful, witty, or interesting. There is no hook at all. It’s like tepid water.

I find the first two songs without much merit at all. I often have a hard time sleeping with music on because I find myself more interested in the music than sleeping. The first two songs would not interrupt my sleep at all (a bad sign).

“The Next Messiah” picks up the tempo a bit. Electric guitar and a steady drum beat come into play. Jenny Lewis’ vocals are more energetic than in the first two songs…but the whole song still feels uninspired to me. Something doesn’t mesh quite right, and I would describe the song as more or less boring, despite the upped tempo.

The middle and title track “Acid Tongue” reminds me the most of “Rabbit Furcoat”. Great harmonies. Sincere vocals. simple, well done acoustic instrumentation. For me, this is the most stand out track on the album.

“See Fernando” is a good follow up. It’s higher energy. The music and the vocals mesh well. And the song effectively makes me want to go see Fernando.

“Carpetbagger” is an okay song. 7.5 out of 10, if you will.

The rest of the album is of no interest to me.

What to take away?

Acid Tongue is less inspired than Rabbit Furcoat. I generally find it boring.

What to expect?

Watered down Jenny Lewis, falling short of her best.

What drink to pair it with?

Lukewarm watered down tea.

I’ve been a fan of Our Lady Peace since I was in 9th grade. Spiritual Machines had just come out, and to my angsty teenage mind their new single “Life” seemed like the most poignant song in the history of mankind.

I then went out and bought every single album in their catalog. Bought. Legitimately bought. I was in love.

This love was not short lived. It flourished and thrived and with every new album came a gleeful trip to the store. 2006 was the last year an Our Lady Peace album was released. I keep looking, though. Fingers crossed, hoping.

There hasn’t been any.

Raine Maida must have been sensing my inner turmoil, and to appease me he released a solo venture.

Only I missed it.

2007 saw his solo album “The Hunter’s Lullaby” released, but I didn’t see it until a little while ago. Sometimes I get so bogged down with music I end up missing those musicians I love the most.

Luckily, my co-conspirator on this website asked me if there were any albums I wanted. He was placing a music order (for real, honest, tangible CDs). I ran through my staple loves, looking for new music. First time I’ve done that in a while, and was intrigued to see new Raine Maida. I mentioned it, and Jacob was good enough to get it.

If you’ve never thought of combining folk and hip-hop, you’re probably in good company. Thankfully, that company doesn’t include Raine.

The album is definitely distinct from the music of Our Lady Peace. Raine takes to talking for most of the album, falling into a 1970’s performance poem kind of feel.

This fits perfect since Raine writes very poetically driven music, and hearing it presented in this manner feels perfectly natural… Except I feel as if Raine really wanted to rap, but knew that it just wouldn’t work out well for him. I can sense restraint in his talking/singing. I’m okay with it.

Elements of folk and hip-hop merge seamlessly here on this album. Acoustic instruments and hip-hop drums. Piano. Strings. This album really covers the gauntlet, though the folk and hip-hop are really the most overwhelming of influences.

The album also has a song that fills into my niche playlist of “clapping”, which makes me happy. More on that later.

The album is a solid album, in my opinion. I just have one minor qualm: it’s just a bit more than ‘chill’, but just shy of being ‘high-energy.’

I wish the tempo of most of the songs was upped just a bit. As always, this is just my personal preference. I like fast. I like high-energy. Or, I like music that I can happily nap to. This doesn’t really fit either bill, but I still definitely enjoy.

This album also may contain the only song to mention the creators of South Park. Positively. Raine Maida is Canadian, but apparently thinks nothing of an occasional jab at his heritage.

What to take away?

This album is nothing like Our Lady Peace, but that’s okay.

What to expect?

Folk and hip-hop with Raine Maida talking over it.

Drink to pair with it?

I feel like this music is perfect for a cafe, especially a European one. But black coffee doesn’t fit the bill. I’m going to have to say a Hot Toddy. I think Hot Balzam and Black Current Juice.

Favorite Song?

It’s gonna have to be the single “Yellow Brick Road“. It’s one of the faster paced and catchier of the songs on the album. If more of the songs on the album had a similar tempo to this I’d be extremely pleased.