Jenny Lewis

So, I think it’s great and all that Jenny Lewis is now on Warner Bros. The thing is, the WB has this super-duper security thing going on with their advance copy CDs, and I can’t play the promo they sent me of Jenny’s new album, Acid Tongue. I tried it on my computer, I tried it in the car, and the players just kept spitting it out. Yes, it’s important to protect one’s recordings from piracy, but it seems you certainly can reach a point where there’s too much security and not enough liberty. In this case, I’d love to hear more of Lewis’ arresting voice, especially in collaboration with Elvis Costello, Benji Hughes and everybody else the publicists say is on the album. If the one free and legal download is suggestive of anything, it’s that I totally want to hear more. I trust that you all can fill me in on how the rest of Acid Tongue sounds.

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Cut Chemist

After a dozen years of being a team player for LA hip-hop legends Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, turntable maestro Cut Chemist is about to follow in the footsteps of his cratedigging buddy, DJ Shadow, and drop his major label solo opus. If these two tastes are any indication, this joint’s gonna have both range and flavor. “The Garden” features deft cuts, lush instrumentation, and lilting Brazilian vocals. “Storm” is classic Chemist: a wicked b-boy playground wherein top-shelf underground MCs Edan and Mr. Lif run amok like schoolkids. In fact, Mr. Lif drops the line our eight-digit 3hiver Sean has been waiting his whole life to hear: “opposable thumbs don’t mean you can get dumb” — WORD! The Audience’s Listening hits June 13 . Meanwhile, fiends like me will have to wear these tracks out and seek the occasional comfort of my Brainfreeze bootleg.

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Built to Spill

“OH MY GOD!” (do I have to, like, pay royalties or something to Dooce for using all caps in a blog post?) I thought when I found “Joyride,” off Built to Spill’s The Normal Years, a K Records gem. (Thanks to Jared and his homemade K Recs t-shirt for the reminder to check their website.) One of my favorites from a thoroughly brilliant collection of random tracks, “Joyride” is a perfect representation of its title — exuberant, juvenile, and out of control. I’d love to put the whole album up here; IT’S THAT GOOD! (The check’s in the mail, Heather & Jon.)

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