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The Rabbit Fur Coat
Jenny Lewis
Reviewed by: Daniel Cwiekowski [Sun, January 01, 2006 @ 2:42:46 PM]
After about a year and a half of waiting around for Team Love to finally get this record out, on January 24th, all of the Jenny Lewis followers will finally get their wish. I don't think that you really need an introduction to Jenny, you should know her from the wonderful band Rilo Kiley who have grown immensely (deservedly so) in the past year with numerous headlining tours, and even an opening spot on part of the US leg of the Coldplay tour. With the growing popularity, more opportunities have been made possible to the band. With guitarist Blake Sennett recording another album for his band The Elected, a solo record from Jenny only seemed like a logical step. So when Team Love's Conor Oberst gave Jenny a chance to record an album and release it on his own label, she jumped at the chance.
With that said, a lot of the hardcore Rilo Kiley and Jenny fans have already heard and discussed a majority of these songs via a live show that was recording in 2004 and found its way to the internet. When I first saw the track listing for Rabbit Fur Coat, I was initially let down that I was already familiar with most of the songs that were to be on the album. When I finally got around to checking it out, my mood changed for the better after hearing songs like 'Born Secular, and the impeccable cover of The Traveling Wilbury's, Handle With Care. The latter which is sure to get people talking with guest appearances from M. Ward, Conor Oberst, and none other than fellow Postal Service friend, Ben Gibbard.
As you will probably see in every review for this album, there is a definite gospel vibe going on with Rabbit Fur Coat. From the lyrics, to the music, Ms. Lewis demonstrates that there's much more to her than what we knew she was capable of with Rilo Kiley. It is impossible to give Jenny all of the credit for this album though, as the backing vocals from The Watson Twins add a whole new layer to this album which really helps make each individual track a lot deeper than if just Lewis were singing all of the vocals. Listen to "Rise Up With Fists" and "Born Secular" to see what I'm talking about. One of the highlights of this album is the soft-spoken title track, where Lewis tackles the issue of Rilo Kiley leaving Saddle Creek Records prior to the release of More Adventurous with the line ;
'But mostly I'm a hypocrite, I sing songs about the deficit, but when I sellout and leave Omaha what will I get? A mansion house and a rabbit fur coat."
As noted before, Lewis does indeed go for a certain vibe on this record and I can't help but feel that she's forcing it during certain points in this record. To me, it seems as if Lewis is trying to neglect the fact that she's from Los Angeles when she places a southern accent into her voice during some parts of the album. Note to Jenny; your voice is naturally amazing, there's absolutely no need to force anything at all. Another thing that I don't understand with Rabbit Fur Coat is why they decided not to end the album with "Born Secular" which has an outro that would perfectly serve as the closer to this album. Instead, we see a song "It Wasn't Me" that serves as mere filler as it doesn't really touch any of the other songs on this album before leading to the final closer which also doesn't add much to the album.
With all of that said, while Rabbit Fur Coat may end up in people's top 10 year end lists, we aren't looking at an album that we will look back on in 5 years and be amazed by. Will this album define the musical career of Jenny Lewis? I doubt it, she has a nice future ahead of her, both with Rilo Kiley and also as a solo artist. Do I think that Lewis will leave Rilo Kiley to pursue the career of a solo artist? Absolutely not; however, with someone with a work ethic as strong as Jenny's, another solo album seems very possible and Rabbit Fur Coat will serve as a pretty solid stepping stone to whatever she chooses down the road.
Score 7.0 out of 10
LIYL; Rilo Kiley, Loretta Lynn
www.team-love.com
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