Wednesday, June 4, 2014

6/4/14


Her voice, on those last few notes of the chorus, is nothing short of shiver inducing. Her words, phrased in uncomplicated scenes and feelings, are full of all things sad. Her loneliness, and strength, is palpable.

Jenny Lewis is one of those musicians I don't think I'll ever tire of. I don't think she'll ever stop making music that works for me. From that first time I heard her, live with Rilo Kiley on Coldplay's X&Y tour in 2005 from the lawn of Darien Lake, I was instantly hooked. Ten years later, about, she's putting out incredible solo work and recording with the best of them. She sounds rich, raw, assured. She sneers with a shyness, her voice a softly fluttering, slippery ribbon. Some tracks party a little harder than others, some quiver with strains of gospel, and some, like this beautiful title track from her last LP, are ballads in the key of heartache, full of honest longing.

With simple acoustic strumming in a four-chord form, and harmonies full, rich and deep, the words of this song are free to shine, and the structure makes it so. Writing in such succinct patterns can be a challenge, a maze whose walls are not always high enough to contain the meaning and means of the message, but when it is done well, no doubt can be had: it is a song. It is meant for melodies, to be sung and heard, bound to resonate and satisfy. Our minds like patterns and rhymes, we like repetition, but we also crave connection. So from there, simplicity rules: words like "liar," and casual, reminiscent "we's," and fire metaphors, the comparison of loneliness and addiction, these are things we know and feel. Lewis does not pontificate, but she is thoughtful. She does not parade, but she does spin a yarn. She leaves hints, casts doubt, and wraps it all up with a tough and trembling cry. 

Looking forward to The Voyager on July 29, and hearing what else she has to say.

"I went to a cobbler
To fix a hole in my shoe
He took one look at my face
And said, "I can fix that hole in you"


I beg your pardon
I'm not looking for a cure
Seen enough of my friends
In the depths of the godsick blues

You know I am a liar
You know I am a liar
Nobody helps a liar


Because I've been down to Dixie
And dropped acid on my tongue
Tripped upon the land
Until enough was enough

I was a little bit lighter
And adventure on my sleeve
I was a little drunk
And looking for company

So I found myself a sweetheart
With the softest of hands
We were unlucky in love
But I'd do it all again

We build ourselves a fire
We build ourselves a fire
But you know I am a liar
You know I am a liar

And you don't know what I've done.

By the rolling river is
Exactly where I was
There was no simple cure
For unlucky in love

To be lonely is a habit
Like smoking or taking drugs
And I've quit them both
But man, was it rough


Now I am tired
It just made me tired
Let's build ourselves a fire
Let's build ourselves a fire"

~acid tongue, 
Jenny Lewis, acid tongue