Jeffrey Lewis - It’s The Ones Who’ve Cracked That The Light Shines Through

Sometimes it is unclear what someone means with his or her music. Are they trying to be artsy? Are they trying to be political? Are they trying to be funny? Sometimes half the mystery of an album is figuring out what they meant and what just happened to be. In walks Jeffrey Lewis, a cartoonist and a musician. Lewis approaches music with a DIY attitude, and a kind of “I am folk but not folk” swagger. The majority of the album is Lewis and his guitar singing out quirky tunes about everything from my own great state of Texas to how to kill horror movies monsters. Not an amazing songwriter, and not an amazing singer, just a comic book kind of guy who also likes to make some music. With a long title like It’s The Ones Who’ve Cracked That The Light Shines Through, it is hard to know what to expect when you pop the album in. The secret to the album is to not take it seriously and just enjoy. Songs like “Don’t Let The Record Label Take You Out To Lunch” serve as a comical yet serious warning to the slippery slope of opening your ears to your financial backers. Other odd titles fill the album, such as “If You Shoot The Head You Kill The Ghoul” and the album ending “You Don’t Have To Be A Scientist To Do Experiments On Your Own Heart”. The former is a catchy ditty you can’t help but sing along to and fall in love with. The later is tale of running away, not being scared, and learning that you can learn more from yourself than from anyone. It is quite easy to discard this album as crap, but to do that is a mistake. Quirky? Yes. Great songwriting or artistry? No. But just plain ole fun and sometimes funny? Always. This is a great album to just kind of put on in the background and relax to while you work or take a drive. It’s something different, and to me that is never a bad thing. [www.thejeffreylewissite.com]