Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins
Rabbit Fur Coat
A preface: First of all, I want to say I am entranced by the album cover photo. Maybe it is because of the generic hotel hallway, but it reminds me of the twisted elevator scene from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining for some reason. Anyhoo...
Taking a rest from her day job in Los Angeles folk-indie-pop outfit Rilo Kiley, former child star Jenny Lewis has joined with Chandra and Leigh Watson to create an incredibly introspective and personal statement of alt-country nouveau-americana.
The album starts off with a short gospel-revival chorus of "Run Devil Run" and shortly thereafter the album proper begins with the foot tap inducing The Big Guns. From then on I was hooked. I must admit this is not the sort of music I typically listen to. The extent of my country experience is classic Johhny Cash, Merle Haggard and the like. Rabbit Fur Coat reminds a jaded listener what good country music can, nay, should sound like as opposed to the prepackaged swill you hear on CMT. Don't let me mislead you here though, there is nary a steele guitar to be heard. Just folksy, rootsy guitar strumming and catchy vocal harmonies.
Despite the mellow and catchy music, the lyrics are pretty much what you may expect if you are familiar with Rilo Kiley. That is to say they are often very dark and cynical whilst being sung in the most innocent of voices. Ms. Lewis' singing gets downright cutsey in places.
She directs her thinly veiled derision at actors and politicians:
In Hollywood, and Washington
They shake their hands through the harm they've done
she displays some self doubt:
You can wake up younger under the knife
And you can wake up sounder if you get analyzed
And I better wake up
and shows her cynicism of religion many times:
But in the desert under the charging sky
It's just you and god, but what If god's not there?
But his name is on your dollar bill
Which just became cab fare.
My favorite track is probably the haunting title track, which is perhaps autobiographical. Or is it a tale of childhood lost? Or is it a scathing indictment of an ineffectual mother? It matters not as the balladic music and matter-of-fact'ly story telling lyrical delivery makes it undeniably compelling. Jenny even manages to make potentially groan enducing rhymes such as ...mostly I'm a hypocrite/I sing songs about the deficit sound perfectly natural. Another standout in this album of standouts is the charming You are what you love.
The least compelling track is a cover of the Travelling Wilbury's Handle with Care which is ironic, because that is certainly my favorite Wilbury track. Even when joined by Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service) who I am fond of, and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) who I am not so fond of, the track seems to me lifeless and flat. It sounds no different than a hotel lounge house band covering it. Not bad, just unremarkable.
On the whole, this is a great album from a style that I don't often get to listen to. Call it country, call it folk, call it singer-songwriter, or call it whatever you want, just call your local record store and see if they have it in stock.
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