ah, jenny lewis. my music crush. the part-time lead singer for one of my favorite bands, rilo kiley. part-time solo artist extraordinaire of two of my favorite albums, rabbit fur coat and acid tongue. and now, part-time member of her newest incarnation, jenny and johnny, featuring her and longtime partner/boyfriend, johnathan rice.

jenny and johnny has been a bit of a mystery thus far. despite their relatively public relationship and extensive recording/touring, the project just sorta popped up on the radar about a month ago. since that time, a website has been launched, a track released, cover art created and a release date has been set for the album (august 31). the album, we’re having fun now, was produced by bright eyes/monsters of folk member and production guru mike mogis. so, that offers a bit of an idea about the musical direction

if you skip on over to the website, you can offer your email address (to sign up for their mailing list) in exchange for their first single (presumably), scissor runner. frankly, the track is still growing on me. it seems to be a bit of a curious choice for an initial release based on the blurb on the website concerning the direction of the collaborative project:

Gone were the vintage, classic-rock textures of their previous two albums, and in came a brand new sound which was tougher around the edges. The exuberance of love songs like Scissor Runner mask some of the record’s darkness, with Lewis chronicling the economic demise of her beloved California in Big Wave, Rice’s haunting vocal on Animal, and both songwriters raising a middle-finger kiss off in the acerbic My Pet Snakes. The overall result is genuine and original pop music for Right Now. This is not a Rilo Kiley record, a Jenny Lewis record, or a Johnathan Rice record. This is Jenny and Johnny. They’re having fun now, and they want you to, too.

so, it seems to suggest that the lead single, scissor runner is a bit of an anomaly. certainly, this wouldn’t be the first time a lead single is considerably different than the rest of the album, but it’s always seemed like a bit of a cheap hook to me. either way, the track is solid and leaves me excited and wanting more for a full album.

here’s the new track, scissor runner:

as a bit of an extra, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time jenny lewis and johnathan rice have recorded together (and, of course, they’ve toured together extensively). one of my favorite jenny lewis tracks, the next messiah (from acid tongue) features rice. on rice’s 2007 further north, lewis adds vocals on end of the affair. both are good tracks and might give a hint to the sound of the forthcoming jenny and johnny project.

the next messiah:

end of the affair: