Jenny Lewis – Joy’All

I am a longtime fan of Jenny Lewis and her band Rilo Kiley, but her 2014 album The Voyager really caught my attention. It was my favorite album of that year. At the time I said referring to The Voyager:

“Great pop music is a combination of slick and subversive – it sucks you in like a Siren’s call. The Voyager is pure ear candy, yet there is a bitter pill is hiding under honey – this is a great pop album that will appeal to both young and old ears.”

Lewis has perfected that combination of slick and subversive in her latest Joy’All. This is brilliant adult pop/rock. Musically it is catchy and lyrically it has adult themes. The album title and lyrics imply that joy can be found everywhere in little and big things. Like her musical hero John Prine, Lewis tackles serious topics with a wink and a grin. This is a delightful album.

The album was produced by Dave Cobb in Nashville. There are country elements, but mostly this is pop-rock. In interviews, Lewis has suggested that she was inspired by Skeeter Davis (“The End of the World”) and Lewis is wearing a Davis stage costume on the cover. Overall this is not a deviation from Lewis’ catalog, just continued perfection with a dash of Nashville.