By By Jesse Cataldo
The most important piece of information about the creative minds behind Rabbit Fur Coat and Sun, Sun, Sun is that they were once - and in many ways still are - actors.
Before teaming up in the late '90s as the singer and lead guitarist of LA's Rilo Kiley, both even had somewhat prosperous careers. Jenny Lewis had been in over 30 movies and TV shows, and Blake Sennett (The Elected) had made a (small) name for himself as Pinsky on Nickelodeon's Salute Your Shorts, and as Joey the Rat on Boy Meets World.
The new year finds the two taking leave from their band and issuing simultaneously released side projects (Lewis' first solo album, Sennett's second with The Elected), and at least on these albums, still acting.
The images that each affects on these two albums, while somewhat rooted in the band's later country influenced output, owe much more to age-old music industry stereotypes. In fact, it's hard to ignore the air of costume that lurks on both.
Sennett, decked out with a sleazy moustache and a vaguely sixties influenced wardrobe, is the sneering rebel who maintains a touch of class and a sense of humor.
Lewis, wearing knee length dresses and backed by twins who look like a pair of waitresses, is the long suffering small town girl, her songs the only outlet from a dreary life of bars and boardinghouses.
As interesting and natural as these assumed personalities may be, they inevitably suffer from the fact that they're only aesthetic, not outgrowths of their actual characters.
Musically, neither album is spectacular or exciting, closely following the inroads established for the genres they're pursuing. Rabbit Fur Coat is slightly better, but more because Lewis is better at fitting her role than because of its actual musical output. Sennett often resorts to the dual extremes of playing dress-up and playing ironic, which makes the album feel subtly uneven. Additionally, his scrawny peal, while complimentary when paired with Lewis' voice, doesn't do as well on its own.
In the end, both albums are passable but neither is very memorable, and if anything, prove that Lewis and Sennett are better at acting like a band together than anything else.