They say there are two sides to every story, but that old saying might not quite cover it if we're talking about Jenny Lewis.  Over the decade she's showed us maybe four or five, depending on where you're standing. With Rilo Kiley, her rock band of the past 10 years, she transformed before our eyes from a shy indie-rocker singing barely above a whisper to the authoritative, take-no-prisoners singer/songwriter/frontwoman we know today. Tack sharp and unafraid of subject matter of any height or weight, channeling songs through either Rilo Kiley or her solo work, her staggering range as a writer has brought her critical acclaim around the globe.

Rabbit Fur Coat, Lewis' soulful love letter to the records of her childhood, was released in 2006 to universal acclaim. Similarly, for Acid Tongue, she was drawn by nostalgia, this time returning to the area where she grew up: Van Nuys, California. Lewis set up shop in Sound City Studios, which boasts a world famous live-tracking room that has produced seminal records over generations. Says Lewis, "The idea was to go one hundred percent live, including the vocals, and as few overdubs as possible.  I wanted to use that big beautiful room and get fully realized takes. If the drums bled into the vocal mic and it made for a technically imperfect sound it didn't matter to me. If it felt right, if the emotion was there, we kept it."

The all analog, no Pro-Tools sessions were all part of a shared aesthetic between Lewis, her producers, and her musician collaborators.  They wanted to work quickly and work up a sweat. Tracking her vocals entirely live and without embellishment gave her the impetus to let the album flow as naturally as possible, the entire recording process taking just 3 weeks. The creative pull of the session was so strong, in fact, that Elvis Costello, a guest contributor to the album, decided right then and there to make an album of his own with Lewis and her team. His Momofuku album was recorded the day after the Acid Tongue sessions wrapped, and was finished in six days.