Sound: Poppy, piano-driven ballads; dark, alt country meditations; bluesy jams and rootsy rockers. Jenny’s vocals range from pretty and airy to haunting and echoey to spirited and soulful. Unlike her debut album Rabbit Fur Coat - which featured the sweet, rich female vocals of The Watson Twins - Acid Tongue boasts a cast of predominately male vocal collaborators. Elvis Costello, Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes), M. Ward and more show up in the foreground and background.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “Pretty Bird”; “Acid Tongue”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Carpetbaggers” featuring Elvis Costello; “Black Sand”; “Bad Man’s World”; “The Next Messiah”
Recommended: Acid Tongue is looser, grittier and consistently better than Rabbit Fur Coat. Her debut may have been prettier (and trading The Watson Twins for the bigger-name male guests is a bit of a letdown), but at times her smart-but-cynical lyrics felt overwrought. On here, the words and music are streamlined and make for some pretty catchy and memorable tunes. At certain points, though, the songs can feel a little too simple and/or repetitive.
Grade: B+

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