The songwriting is captivating throughout; Lewis covers a lot of ground thematically but manages to string it all together. Faith, family, childhood bruises, the hypocrisy of others, the hypocrisy of self and the strangeness of relationships are all linked together in some genuinely creative ways. Lewis bargains with God on “The Charging Sky” by taking up prayer as an insurance policy against her death, then trades in bargaining for wrestling on the quiet, aptly-titled hymnal “Born Secular.” She compares a relationship with a close friend to “kissing a mirror” on “Melt Your Heart,” then sees herself on the other side of that mirror on “You Are What You Love”: “We see our fears in everything…/You are what you love, not what loves you back.” On “The Big Guns” Lewis realizes that everyone in her life is hiding something in order to keep her happy, but later decides that she’s fine with the deception: “I’m in love with illusions so saw me in half.” And expressing her disgust with fake relationships, Lewis quips on “Rise up With Fists!!” that “she will wake up wealthy and you will wake up 45,” but isn’t above pointing the barrel back at herself on the title track, where she admits her own hypocrisy.

The Watson Twins are present throughout, not necessarily taking the edge off of anything so much as rounding out Lewis’ purging. However, they are absent for strategic purposes on two of the album’s best tracks. The title track wisely contains only Lewis’ vocals over an acoustic guitar. It’s an autobiographically detailed account of her childhood, spent under the care of a drug-addled, wealth-hungry, home-wrecking mother whom she believes forced her into the inescapable tortures of a sitcom childhood: “I became a hundred thousand dollar kid…/The fortune faded as fortunes often do.” This is the most powerful song on the album, but not the catchiest by far. That designation belongs to “Handle With Care,” where Lewis brings together Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes (this album was released on his Team Love label) for a cover of the forgotten hit from the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys (George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty).

Lewis has always had a knack for closing strong, whether it’s the double exclamation points at the end of the song title “Rise Up With Fists!!” or the word “never” repeated 27 times in a row to close out “I Never” from Rilo Kiley’s last album, More Adventurous. As Rabbit Fur Coat gently crests in the final quarter, Lewis ties up all necessary explanations in the dreamy nightcap “It Wasn’t Me”: “It’ll take a lifetime to clear your name/Under the bridges of fame/It’s always nighttime.” Acceptance will have to suffice in lieu of redemption, for now.

Sound
Production duties are shared by M. Ward and Mike Mogis, a couple of guys who know their way around the scene. The two of them have performed, produced or recorded with like-minded musicians such as Grandaddy, Howe Gelb, Cat Power, Beth Orton and Bright Eyes. They give the album a warm, chapel-like feel and are careful to not ignore or overstate the importance of the Watson Twins. Lewis’ vocals are beautiful on their own, but the album would not have hit the gospel mark without the bulk added by the Watsons.