Review: "Rabbit Fur Coat" / Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins

Jenny Lewis seems to have a bit of Neko Case-envy, as she takes a break from emotional indiepop and attempts to find her inner country singer. While there have always been hints of alt-country on Rilo Kiley records, "Rabbit Fur Coat" fails to measure up to the standard Lewis has previously set for herself.
Producer Mike Mogis takes a minimalist approach, mostly leaving Lewis and her acoustic guitar to their own devices, with a little harmony help from the Watson Twins. This sounds great on opener "Run Devil Run" - a mostly acapella number. Unfortunately, it leaves most of the other songs sounding like demos - there are points of brilliance, but songs like "The Big Guns" and "You Are What You Love" could really have benefited from stronger production. On the otherhand, songs with greater production suffer from weak songwriting ("Born Secular"), while Lewis sounds bored and un-confident on a phoned-in cover of the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle with Care." "It Wasn't Me" is, sadly, not a Shaggy cover, but is the best song - probably because it is the one that sounds most like Rilo Kiley.

2.5 STARS (out of 5)

::3 Related Links::
1• Review: "Handle with Care" / Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
2• Team Love Records
3• "Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis Gets Her Wilburys On With Death Cab Frontman " (MTV News)

::if you liked (or were dissappointed by) this record, you should really check out Neko Case's "Furnace Room Lullaby."