Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins Rabbit Fur Coat

In her day job, Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis is commonly praised with having created the finest alt-pop records since Belly called it a day. But despite garnering critical plaudits and appearing at the top of everyone's recommended lists at the time of release, by the time the end of year polls arrive, people have forgotten about the fervent praise, the helter-skelter vocals, and the shimmering guitar hooks. Mention More Adventurous or The Execution of All Things to someone and they'll be able to name a single off one of them, maybe, and have a vague recollection that they thought the album was "alright".

Against this less than illustrious history, Rilo Kiley's lead singer releases a collection of country soul, deemed not appropriate for the band. Rabbit Fur Coat has been garnering critical plaudits and appearing at the top of everyone's recommended lists at the time of release. But will this fare any better in the long run than the band's releases?

The sugar sweet voice and literate turn of phrase that stand out on listening to Rilo Kiley are prominent, and the love of country soul that has always been suppressed by the band is given free rein on the solo release. Similar in style to Neko Case's solo work, or Tanya Donelly's most recent album, gospel duo, the Watson Twins contribute backing vocals adding a bluegrass tone to opening tracks Run Devil Run and The Big Guns.

Lewis clearly has a lot to say, railing against apathy in Rise Up With Fists, telling the tale of a gold-digging mother and daughter in the title track, and in The Charging Sky pretty much lampooning the state of the world. The trouble is, that while she hits her country soul stride well, she has trouble changing the gear, regardless of the subject matter. The overall effect is of an album written and recorded on prozac that never achieves the emotional highs or the lows needed to make this kind of country soul great.

There are a couple of tracks that don't suffer too badly from Lewis' steadfast disaffection, the title track is a beautiful sedate waltz, and the cover of the Travelling Wilbury's Handle With Care is pulled out of the rut by the occasionally raucous contributions of Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), M Ward, and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes).

So, a few months down the line, you might be able to name a couple of songs from this accomplished release, but this reviewer doubts it will change the fortunes of Jenny Lewis. And when there are other artists doing this sort of thing so much better, Lewis will need to raise her game for anything else.