Jenny Lewis - On the Line
Critic Score
Based on 30 reviews
2019 Ratings: #56 / 805
Year End Rank: #37
User Score
Based on 354 ratings
2019 Rank: #348
Liked by 14 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Telegraph

There is nothing ground-breaking here, and Lewis pays not even the faintest lip service to contemporary pop trends. But if you like quality songwriting delivered with panache, On The Line is on the money.

100
NME
On her fourth solo record, Jenny Lewis skewers all of these tensions with astonishing ease. It’s up there with her greatest work to date.
95
Earmilk

It's tender, it's quiet, it's loud. It's filled with passion, but never bitter, nor passive aggressively sweet. Time was given and taken in a manner that could only be construed through forgiveness.

90
God Is in the TV

Lewis winds her own tapestry here around a difficult time of her life, with the sweetest voice on offer right now in the Valley, the Canyon and anywhere else in L.A., every word clear and utterly convincing.

90
Exclaim!

On the Line is full of such raw realizations laid bare — it's Lewis squaring up a difficult period of her life with an affected but steady gaze.

90
DIY

‘On the Line’ ... sounds as if its slow-burning gestation was all part of the plan - it’s a stately and unhurried affair that methodically untangles heartbreak with sharp storytelling and Lewis’ trademark rapier wit.

90
Albumism

On The Line is a really good album. Jenny Lewis, a consummate star, delivers consistent pop tracks with soul-baring lyrics. It’s a unique pleasure for an artist who spoke to you deeply years ago to continue creating compelling material.

85
Under the Radar

Stacked with radio-friendly earworms aplenty, this is no empty-calories pop. It's filled with inescapable themes—spirituality, life after death, addiction, loss—you can sink your teeth into, commiserate, and then sing along.

83
A.V. Club

On The Line preserves the irreverence and honesty of her past work, but underscores that Lewis is finding a new, deeper musical path drawing from—but not beholden to—grief and rebirth.

81
Paste

On The Line, her best solo work to date, finds her trading chaos for peace and pain for parties. And West Coast rock combined with piano glam and Lewis’ lyrics makes for a most celebratory listen, indeed.

80
The Sydney Morning Herald

The '70s-tinted Wasted Youth is one Lewis' finest moments, juxtaposing an irresistibly poppy melody with a tale spelt out in its title, and few can wrap sadness and regret up quite so gloriously.

80
Drowned in Sound
On the Line is yet another beautifully-realised and impeccably-delivered effort from a songwriter who revels and beguiles us from floorboards and pavements that few other songwriters would dream to tread.
80
The Observer

The overarching mood cannot help but be bittersweet.

80
Q Magazine
Lewis has never sounded on stronger form than she does here.
80
The Irish Times
Lewis shapes relationship trouble and her mother’s death into something durable.
80
Northern Transmissions

This could be Jenny Lewis at her best—at the very least, it’s the freshest she and many of her backers have sounded in years.

80
The Independent

Here, Lewis does what she does best: adds the glossy sparkle of Hollywood and a sunny Californian sheen to melancholy and nostalgia, with her most luxuriantly orchestrated album yet.

80
Evening Standard
Throughout, Lewis shows immense strength in the face of adversity and even in her darkest songs, hope can always be found. It is her most assured album to date.
80
Mojo
These songs have a sharp, glittery edge, like a neat tequila slammer.
80
Rolling Stone

As glorious as the sound of this thing is, glinting with letter-perfect ‘70s-’80s rock sonics and touches of 21st-century psychedelic irony, the songs are the show, written by a woman of a particular age from a perspective well past jaded.

80
Sputnikmusic

Making the personal feel representative of an entire city and a certain mythos is not for the fainthearted, but Lewis, with her tantalizingly specific lyrics and casual non sequiturs, does it so well throughout On the Line that you hardly notice the sleight of hand.

80
AllMusic

It's an album where the particulars dissipate after its conclusion, leaving behind pleasant thoughts but no distinct memories.

80
musicOMH

While On The Line is an album full of bleak subject matter, there’s an uplifting, even cathartic feel to much of it. It’s the sound of someone coming out of the darkness, and starting to see the light shining through.

80
Pitchfork

The fourth album from the California indie rock icon features some of her strongest songwriting, sung gorgeously and told with biting detail.

75
Consequence of Sound

Lewis’ songs have always been mature and introspective, but On the Line reaches new heights as she explores from a changed perspective.

70
Uncut
There are dark undertones--drug references mainly--but Lewis is no moper.
70
Clash
Occasionally, the lyrics wander into cliché but for the most part, it’s a strong addition to a stellar body of work and another welcome showing from one of music’s most consistent and underrated performers.
70
The Line of Best Fit

On The Line may not be her strongest work, no matter how much it aims to be but it proves that Jenny Lewis doesn't need to try too hard to become one of the greats. She's already been one for a while.

70
No Ripcord

It's the true embodiment of a studio album, and it shows—from the classic FM radio pop-rock of Red Bull and Hennessy to the soulful country-rock of Little White Dove, every instrument is put to use with seamless efficiency.

65
Spectrum Culture

Lewis still shows herself to be able to put together some top-notch music and musicians, but there’s something decidedly lacking. Where before she remained well contained within a given musical idiom, here she wanders.

JacksonLerner
72

her first effort in a half decade is romantic and dreamy. a Jenny Lewis record that is folk-country is one of the craziest left turns i know of; her effort shines through, even when the album doesn’t.

while the indie icon’s solo career hasn’t panned out as expected, she is showing many signs of growth and maturity in her music.

matteo
75

The vibe I'm getting so far is Kacey Musgraves as a jaded middle aged divorcee, all weed smoke and rhinestones and heartache, but with just enough of that optimism left in her to keep the band playing. It's Jenny Lewis' best solo album yet.

sophiaabbey
80

Be honest, is Jenny Lewis the Elton John of the 2010s?

Raiksheen
70

Decent album and nice tits

60

I find the album a little dull, but enjoyable to listen. My favorite track is Red Bull & Hennessy.

JacksonLerner
72

her first effort in a half decade is romantic and dreamy. a Jenny Lewis record that is folk-country is one of the craziest left turns i know of; her effort shines through, even when the album doesn’t.

while the indie icon’s solo career hasn’t panned out as expected, she is showing many signs of growth and maturity in her music.

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Track List

1Heads Gonna Roll
5:13
77
2Wasted Youth
4:13
77
3Red Bull & Hennessy
4:48
78
4Hollywood Lawn
4:34
70
5Do Si Do
3:54
70
6Dogwood
4:28
40
7Party Clown
4:09
49
8Little White Dove
4:49
40
9Taffy
4:27
30
10On the Line
3:48
56
11Rabbit Hole
2:46
40
Total Length: 47 minutes
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Added on: December 3, 2018