On the Line | |
Type: | studio |
Artist: | Jenny Lewis |
Cover: | On the Line (Jenny Lewis album cover).jpg |
Released: | March 22, 2019 |
Studio: | Capitol (Hollywood) |
Genre: | Indie rock |
Length: | 47:15 |
Label: | Warner Bros. |
Prev Title: | The Voyager |
Prev Year: | 2014 |
Next Title: | Joy'All |
Next Year: | 2023 |
On the Line is the third solo album and fourth overall by American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis. The album was released on March 22, 2019, by Warner Bros. Records.[1] Recorded at Capitol Records' Studio B, the album has contributions from Beck, Ringo Starr, Ryan Adams, Don Was, Benmont Tench, Jason Falkner, and Jim Keltner.[2] [3]
On the Line was met with widespread critical acclaim. The Daily Telegraph called it "a smart, swaggering break-up album from a major talent", while The Independent said Lewis "adds a California sheen to melancholy and nostalgia". Robert Christgau was somewhat less impressed in Vice, giving it a three-star honorable mention. He said Lewis, "the rare 21st-century singer-songwriter whose level of craft renders her good enough for 76-year-old master drummer Jim Keltner", "loses the spring in her step that made her so 21st-century by proving it", naming as highlights the title track, "Rabbit Hole", and "Dogwood".[4]
In a year-end essay for Slate, Ann Powers cited On the Line as one of her favorite albums from 2019 and proof that the format is not dead but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis". She added that concept albums had reemerged through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives of artists such as Lewis, who "confronted the ghost of her mother by invoking the musical touchstones they had shared in the fearless On the Line".[5]
A month prior to the album's release, Ryan Adams, who helped produce the record, was accused by several women of sexual misconduct.[6] After the album was released, Lewis told Pitchfork: "The allegations are so serious and shocking and really fucked up, and I was so sad on so many levels when I heard, I hate that he's on this album, but you can't rewrite how things went. We started the record together two years ago, and he worked on it — we were in the studio for five days. Then he pretty much bounced, and I had to finish the album by myself."[7]