Music

Review: Jenny and Johnny "I’m Having Fun Now"

by Melody Lau

To those on their knees, bowing down to Best Coast and Wavves as the proclaimed music royalty of the west coast, don’t be so sure you’ve got the right power couple just yet. Long before Bethany Cosentino and Nathan Williams were exchanging cute Tweets about cat-sitting and Jersey Shore, LA lovebirds Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley and solo fame) and Johnathan Rice were touring and recording side by side, dominating the coastline individually. But as fate has it, an inevitable collaboration was bound to emerge, and so as our summer fizzles in the sunset, we are now presented with Jenny and Johnny’s debut effort entitled I’m Having Fun Now.

A culmination of both their musical fortes, even though they are fairly similar, this may not be the first time Lewis and Rice have worked together but I’m Having Fun Now is by far the best collaborative work the duo have recorded to date. Lewis’ penchant for Rilo Kiley-esque pop melodies and Rice’s country twang are combined on this record to create a slightly more optimistic vision than either are normally used to singing about but ultimately a joyous, catchy and as the title suggests, a fun record.

Songs are soaked in California sunshine, beachy waves of folk-rock riffs and hazy girl-boy sing-alongs. Though easily comparable to She & Him, Jenny and Johnny kick up the Americana and are not afraid to turn the amp up a few notches, with power chords and pop galore especially on “My Pet Snakes” and “Big Wave”. Rice also acquires a more prominent presence vocally than M. Ward, playing the Torquil Campbell to Lewis’ Amy Millan, trading off cute and snippy verses back and forth with his girlfriend. It’s immediately evident that Lewis takes the wheel on vocals as her perfect country songstress meets pop diva pipes are undeniably the star of most tracks but Rice’s lead on “Slavedriver” and “Committed” proves that this is not a one-sided affair.

Albeit, I’m Having Fun Now is more of a hokey sunshine and smiles project as opposed to a steamy romantic connection but one can’t always sing about infidelity and loneliness. Jenny and Johnny make love sound just the way it’s supposed to be – darling and hopelessly positive.

Listen to a few tracks from “I’m Having Fun Now” here.