Acid Tongue - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Acid Tongue has received generally favorable reviews, scoring a 75% on review aggregator Metacritic. Creative Loafing said that while Rabbit Fur Coat "glided through an Appalachian dream world", Lewis "stomps her boots while exploring similar terrain" on Acid Tongue. The review continued that while the album "includes plenty of quirky meditations on lost love that recall her previous adventures, well-placed jolts give Acid Tongue greater balance, a component that's lacking on Rabbit Fur Coat." According to The Sunday Times, "the results are magnificent, but occasionally they are a shaky misstep." Chicago Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis called Acid Tongue "sensual and entrancing." The Daily Trojan labeled the tracks as "psychedelic, occasionally sexy, but always timeless", although noting that the album "lacks a thematic focus that can be found on every other album Lewis has released".

Filter referred to the album's title track as "simply beautiful, causing goosebumps to the arms of even the toughest man. It's rather deep, despite its simplicity, a difficult task to say the least." It has also been called "a prime example of Lewis' simplistic genius." The Times said "the verses in the title track tickle and tease so that you are practically salivating for the chorus."

It was also noted that Lewis' "delicately seductive vocals are more versatile", with the Detroit Free Press stating that her voice "smoothly mixes classic country with pop and indie-rock, Lewis is as adept on the ballads as she is on the rave-ups." The Times considered Lewis' songwriting "leagues ahead of anything that she has done in the past" and her vocals sound "as though she means it". DeRogatis pointed out that "Lewis' impressive strength as both a singer and a songwriter is that she makes every listener feel as if her music was crafted just for them." However, Angela Zimmerman of Crawdaddy! felt that Lewis often used a "pervasive soprano that she can't quite execute" on tracks like "Black Sand", "Pretty Bird", "Trying My Best to Love You", and "Jack Killed Mom".

Pitchfork Media said that while Acid Tongue is "immediately pleasurable," the album's downfall is that "Lewis does such a good job of nailing choice sounds and styles from pop's past that you can't help getting reeled in right away; only upon later reflection do you realize that much of her success lies in evoking something else great rather than achieving a greatness more uniquely her own." The review continued, "In these straitjacketed settings, Lewis' considerable strengths as a lyricist and performer just aren't given sufficient room to fully emerge." Time noted that Acid Tongue "sprawl with misplaced ambition" and that only the title track sticks. Another review observed, "Lewis seems to be on her way to a more definitive musical existence but she doesn’t quite seem to know yet." Acid Tongue was also slated for its "hip-hop-like roster of unnecessary cameos. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward of She and Him make sense, but Elvis Costello sounds intrusive during his duet on "Carpetbaggers," while the black Crowes' Chris Robinson is just superfluous." Crawdaddy!'s Zimmerman said that while "these appearances help flavor the record, I miss the Watson Twins."

The album was made number 14 in Blender's 33 Best Albums of 2008 list, and number 46 in Q's 50 Best Albums of the Year 2008. It was also voted number 18 in Rolling Stone's Readers' Top 30 Albums of 2008 list. "Acid Tongue" was number 66 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.