Jenny Lewis has been a fixture in indie rock for two decades, firstly with Rilo Kiley and then a solo career. Even before her music career Lewis was a public figure; a child actress who debuted in a Jell-O commercial and appeared in numerous TV series and movies, like 1989’s The Wizard.
The switch to music was justified – Lewis is a gifted writer, and her vocals are gorgeous, honeyed and clear. Her voice carries some of the same gravitas and wisdom of a previous generation of hard-livin’ country singers.
2019’s On The Line is Lewis’ fourth solo album. Lewis lives near Laurel Canyon, and On The Line is a lush, singer-songwriter record that reflects the location. Lewis utilised vintage equipment previously used by Carole King. The stately I-V-IV chord sequence of ‘Hollywood Lawn’ echoes Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s ‘Helpless’.
Lewis’ piano and vocals are supported by a stellar band, including drummers Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr, Beck, Don Was, Jason Faulkner, and Ryan Adams. Longtime Tom Petty sideman Benmont Tench turns in a wonderful organ solo on the opening ‘Heads Gonna Roll’.
Lewis had a lot to write about – leading up to On The Line, she dealt with the end of a twelve year relationship with songwriter Johnathan Rice and the death of her mother. There are references to both events liberally scattered among the lyrics of On The Line. “You thought I was your muse/But all along it was you” is a cutting line from ‘Dogwood’, while ‘Little White Dove’ deals with her mother’s hospitalisation.
Addiction and desire are common themes for On The Line. Lewis’ mother struggled with a heroin addiction, and ‘Wasted Youth’ features the line “I wasted my youth on a poppy.” The first verse of ‘Party Clown’ recalls “I was a girl in a black Corvette/Getting head in the shadows”, while lead single ‘Red Bull and Hennessy’ proclaims “I’m wired on Red Bull and Hennessy.”
Most of these songs are introspective and based around Lewis’ piano, but she varies the formula just enough to keep things interesting. ‘Little White Dove’ rocks hard, despite containing some of the record’s most personal lyrics, while closer ‘Rabbit Hole’ is a quickly strummed singalong.
Amazingly, I’d never caught up with Lewis’ work previously, and I’ve dived back into her work with Rilo Kiley and her previous solo records. On The Line is a great record on its own terms, musically lush and lyrically honest.
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I’ve been following Jenny Lewis for years, haha, starting with her turn in The Wizard. But this one’s actually quite good.
Yeah I’m surprised I’ve never caught up with Rilo Kiley or her solo career – I’m the right generation to be a fan, and I’ve heard the names a lot, just never listened.
I had never heard of Jenny Lewis before but I could convert.
Nice to see Ringo on the list of musicians.
Did you ever read Ready Player One? The Wizard film played a big role in the book (not sure if it does in the Ready Player One movie), I didn’t realize she was in it!
I have never heard of Ready Player One, actually….
She hit it out of the park on the Side A. Tracks 1-5 is maybe the best run on any album this year. I was less convinced by her lyrics on the last half which felt a bit cringy at times. I agree On The Line is good, just I found it uneven.
I think side one is the stronger as well – I was generally very impressed though, couldn’t believed I’d missed all her earlier stuff for so long.
While the album cover looked familiar, I don’t believe I had ever listened to any music by Jenny Lewis. I definitely like what I’m hearing here. Plus, I suppose having the likes of Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner and Benmont Tench play on your record speaks for itself.
She’s pretty traditional musically. There’s a song on her previous album named ‘She’s Not Me’, which sounds like a nice homage to ‘Free Fallin”.