Categories : Country + Western, Featured Review, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 4/5 Released: January 24, 2006 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov |
Jenny Lewis’ career to date has been anything but stable. After emerging from her own shadow as a child actor, Lewis began her career as a songwriter, and formed indie darlings Rilo Kiley. After spending the early part of their career jumping from label to label, Kiley’s latest effort More Adventurous finally earned them the praise they deserved from the beginning. The album landed atop many best of lists for 2004, and established Rilo Kiley as a band to watch in the future. Never one to take the predictable route, however, Lewis decided to follow up on the momentum of her band by releasing a solo album with the help of Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and the Nebraska-based Watson Twins.
With that, we get Rabbit Furcoat, where Lewis creates yet another incredibly individual piece of work. Unlike the power-pop of Adventurous, Furcoat is laden with dust-covered country and heart-on-her-sleeve expositions on religion and love, both topics that Lewis has dealt with less directly on her earlier work.
Lewis’ troubled relationship with her religious beliefs is the driving force behind this record, as on the album’s best track ‘Born Secular’. In five scant minutes, Lewis expresses frustration, apathy, acceptance and faith, all the while battling the cynicism that comes from a non-religious upbringing. While Lewis flounders emotionally on the album, she is always self-assured, keeping her head above water and her tongue in her cheek. This inner conflict continues throughout Furcoat, and with all of Lewis’ searching, she – thankfully – never reaches a conclusion.
Rilo Kiley’s sound has never remained static from song to song, let alone album to album, but on Rabbit Furcoat, Lewis takes an even sharper left turn than her most rabid fans are accustomed to. Blending elements of country, gospel and folk, Lewis’ most commanding instrument continues to be her voice; instantly both powerful and vulnerable, seductive and apathetic, the charm of this album lies within Lewis’ personality and willingness to wage personal battles in a very public forum.
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