Jenny Lewis stellar songwriting chops were visible back in 2001 on Takeoffs and Landings, the first LP by Rilo Kiley, the band she co-fronted with Blake Sennett. Theyve only grown stronger since and as her take on the Traveling Wilburys Handle With Care proved, shes got a way with covers, too. To give some context to On The Line, her fourth solo LP, here are some highlights, past to present.
Pictures of Success (Rilo Kiley, Take Offs and Landings, 2001) A sweetly chilling evocation of broke-ass despair cloaked in shaky optimism, this gem from Rilo Kileys debut, delivered over a chiming indie-rock trot, has Lewis working her upper register for maximum recovering-child-actor drama. When she coos These are times that cant be weathered on the outro, alongside a trumpet line suggesting both a cavalry charge and Taps, its still as evocative and timely as its ever been.
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A Better Son/Daughter (Rilo Kiley, The Execution of All Things, 2002) A morning panic attack gets recounted as if through a rotary phone, then builds and explodes into an affirmational anthem driven by military snare and ripping guitar. The confidence feels unstable (Youll fake it if you have to/And youll show up for work with a smile), but aint it always?
Its a Hit (Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous, 2004) Lewis began her bands major label debut with a sneer at then-President Bush, whod recently ordered the Iraq invasion (Any chimp can play human for a day And run for office on election day/Fancy himself a real decision-maker). Then she side-eyes the act of writing pop hits with a mea culpa shrug. Badass, knowing, eternal.
Portions For Foxes (Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous, 2004) Lewis quotes the Bible on this song about booty call self-medication and a bad news relationship the singer cant quite give up. And the moral high ground is out of reach: regarding her lovers other hookups, she fesses: I dont blame you/I do the same thing, I get lonely too.
Rise Up With Fists!! (Rabbit Fur Coat, 2006) Lewis solo debut opens with this skeptical pep-talk to herself, framed by an indictment of some creep having a Vegas affair and a nod to the moral hypocrisy of preachers. Echoing her are the Watson Twins, whose soulful country-gospel backing vocals make Lewis sound like a next-gen Tammy Wynette.
Rabbit Fur Coat (Rabbit Fur Coat, 2006) A waltz for acoustic guitar that tells the story of a hundred thousand dollar kid and her trouble-courtin, drug-snortin mom. Lewis, a child actor of some note back in the day, has said the lyrics are mostly fiction, but she sells em like memoir.
Handle With Care (Rabbit Fur Coat, 2006) This Traveling Wilburys rewind casts Lewis as George Harrison, Ben Gibbard as Roy Orbison, and a tag-team of M. Ward and Conor Oberst as Dylan/Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne. Its spot-on, and shows how Lewis can share ownership of even a deeply trademarked song (she did a nifty cover of Bowies RockNRoll Suicide with Rilo Kiley back in the day). Having left the indie-rock clubhouse for major label wilds, she testifies to being stuck in airports, terrorized/Sent to meetings, hypnotized/Overexposed, commercialized with knowing weariness. But like the dudes who sang the original, shes handled it all like a pro.
Just One of The Guys (The Voyager, 2014) Lewis stares down the passage of time with this meditation on maternal FOMO and gender expectations (When I look at myself, all I can see/Im just another lady without a baby). But she goes out determined to do things her way, as ever.
Shes Not Me (The Voyager, 2014) This Philly soul jam is a twisted love letter to an ex part kiss-off, part come-on, part apology, part knife-twist. And the all-star video is a hoot, with Fred Armisen as a tweaked skateboarder (and blue-haired lady), Feist as air-guitar-shredding priest, and Zosia Mamet and Leo Fitzpatrick as funky girl scouts.
Wasted Youth (On The Line, 2019) With echoes of Tapestry-era Carole King and Leonard Cohens Everybody Knows, the forty-something survivor blithely notes that shes sliding down a bong, and that she wasted her youth on a poppy. But amidst chipper, haunted doo-doo-doos, she dispenses cautionary wisdom for the kids, hard-won and maternal: just because youre young/ dont mean nothingwe are here and were gone/ do something!