Album of the Week

While Jenny Lewis’s fifth album, Joy’All, was recorded with country producer-of-the-moment Dave Cobb in Nashville and features the singer wearing a spangled costume that belonged to Skeeter Davis on the cover, it’s a stretch to say the Nudie suit-loving Lewis has gone country. In truth, she’s as country as she’s always been—it’s more of a vibe than a defining genre for her, in the way that Stevie Nicks brought a country flair to Fleetwood Mac or that ‘70s era of Laurel Canyon where everyone loved a cosmic steel guitar.

“Apples and Oranges” magically feels like some lost Motown country record. Ballad “Essence of Life,” with Jon Brion’s vibraphone adding a note of wistfulness, recalls Dottie West, who doesn’t get enough love now in Nashville. And “Giddy Up” is no high-octane, Shania-style banger; Lewis is a breathy disco diva singing about the search for true love at 47 over a cool jazz strut: “Take a chance/ On a little romance/ We’re both adults.” She has said this is a record about relationships—with others but, ultimately, herself. Set to a groove of warm John McVie–style bass, courtesy of regular Cobb contributor Brian Allen, “Psychos” paints a portrait of middle-age dating and getting ghosted by guys you maybe shouldn’t be bothering with anyway.

Meanwhile, yacht rock-ish “Cherry Baby” keeps the “Giddy Up” mood going as Lewis admits: “‘Cause I fall in love/ Too easy, too easy/ With anyone/ Who touches me, fucks with me … Cherry, baby/ Will you be mine?” “Puppy and a Truck” is classic Lewis, with the singer in her own very specific midlife crisis. “I don’t got no kids/ I don’t got no roots/ I’m an orphan,” she sings, confessing, “My forties are kicking my ass/ And handing them to me in a margarita glass …  So I’m 44 in 2020 and thank god I saved up some money.” But that’s not all she did: “Like a shot of good luck/ I got a puppy and truck.” That easy-rolling number, like many others here, features excellently soulful backing vocals by Jess Wolf of Lucius. (It should be noted that Lewis has a particular talent for choosing vocalists who compliment her lead, going back to the Watson Twins on 2006′s Rabbit Fur Coat.)

Fun “Love Feel” namechecks country outlaws and bears a little Miranda Lambert sass and a little of the ‘50s greaser doll appeal Lewis previously visited on I’m Having Fun Now from Jenny and Johnny, her duo with Johnathan Rice. And the lively closer “Chain of Tears” does, in fact, summon up a Skeeter-style spoken part and even evokes the break-up pain of the late singer’s “End of the World,” with Lewis lamenting, “I was hoping there was some pill I could take … Some procedure I could undertake/ To have your memory erased.”

With Joy’All, Jenny Lewis showcases her evolution as an artist while staying true to her roots. The album’s diverse sonic palette, combined with Lewis’s introspective lyrics and captivating vocals, offers a musical experience that is both nostalgic and fresh. As she takes her songs on the road, fans can expect an enchanting and joy-filled journey through the music of Jenny Lewis.