Never News: Music

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat

Team Love

Upon arriving home I found three packages awaiting me—all music—and this was one of them.

Jenny Lewis is one of those brilliant pop/rock/folk songwriters, so I knew it was going to be a good one (and I had heard almost all of the songs before now, thanks to that bootleg that was circling around a few months {a year?}ago, so I already knew how good they were), but I was (and still am) shocked by it; it's gorgeous.

Maybe I'm just one of those guys who thinks that anything remotely connected to Saddle Creek has a certain genius quality (Jenny is the front woman of Rilo Kiley, who made the switch to Saddle Creek when Tim Kasher {The Good Life, Cursive}found out about them while touring with Superchunk. Rilo's since left the Creek for a major/indie label set-up they made for themselves {Brute/Beaute}, and this record is released via Team Love, Conor Oberst's baby-Creek label), and I think I'm right in that feeling; when you have a creative pool the size and scope of Omaha's musicians, everyone does their best to make each record the best yet.

I think that, already, I have found my first favorite record of 2006, and it is Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat. It also features a strong contender for best guest-vocalist track in “Handle With Care”, a song that features not only Ben Gibbard (who created a working relationship with Jenny via The Postal Service), but also M. Ward and Conor Oberst, each with their own verse. And, god, is it gorgeous.

Jenny Lewis takes a step back from balls out (no irony intended) rocking and folk-rocking and takes a stroll through the territory of soul-filled, wonderful folk; here she showcases the voice that we've always known was gorgeous but had always wondered at the depth of; turns out, pretty damn deep. The Watson Twins add a sort of mix-up between Do-Wop and Choir quality to the tunes they're featured on (which equals most of them), and the large stable of Saddle Creekers make the quality of music and sound pitch-perfect: Mogis (Mike, not AJ) steps in as producer (again), and it stinks of that—the perfect transitions, the lead-ins, and the multi-instrumentation. As I said, Conor makes his appearance, and M. Ward is featured not only as a vocalist but (thank god) as a guitarist (he's one of the best guitarists in independent music). Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley) plays drums, as does (ex-Decemberist) Rachel Bloomberg (!).

The liner notes are sparse, making room for some high-quality photos of Jenny and co that are nearly as sweet as the songs themselves.

Pay attention to 'You Are What You Love' for a Tim Kasher reference. I love Tim.

Buy 'Rabbit Fur Coat'
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins -- Rise Up With Fists! (mp3)
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Melt Your Heart (mp3)
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins (and Ben Gibbard, M. Ward, and Conor Oberst) -

posted by Colin Reed Moon @ 2:08 PM