Jeffrey Lewis - The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane (And Other Favorites)
Label: Rough Trade Records
Release date: Out now
Rating: ++++

This is a collection of the fine songwriting talent of Jeffrey Lewis. There are stories of almost love, drug fuelled madness, streams of consciousness, and comforting words. All of these are told with a rare wit and humour. There are songs tracing the path from singledom ('The East River'), through missed opportunity (The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song) and gleefully rubbing it in to the ex ('Another Girl'). Alongside these are cautionary tales like 'The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane' and humorous takes on the world as a whole ('Life').

'The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song' deserves special attention here. It is a tale of a brief meeting between Jeffrey and an unknown woman, a conversation about oral sex, Leonard Cohen and the aforementioned hotel, which expands to a funny and touchingly comforting conceit that Jeffrey himself only half believes. It has an attention to silly little detail and an honesty that is superbly told and beautifully accompanied. 4/5 (BG)
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