On the Line (Jenny Lewis album)

On the Line was met with widespread critical acclaim.^[5] The Daily Telegraph called it "a smart, swaggering break-up album from a major talent",^[9] while The Independent said Lewis "adds a California sheen to melancholy and nostalgia".^[10] Robert Christgau was somewhat less impressed in Vice, giving it a three-star honorable mention. He said Lewis, "the rare 21st-century singer-songwriter whose level of craft renders her good enough for 76-year-old master drummer Jim Keltner", "loses the spring in her step that made her so 21st-century by proving it", naming as highlights the title track, "Rabbit Hole", and "Dogwood".^[16]

In a year-end essay for Slate, Ann Powers cited On the Line as one of her favorite albums from 2019 and proof that the format is not dead but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis". She added that concept albums had reemerged through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives of artists such as Lewis, who "confronted the ghost of her mother by invoking the musical touchstones they had shared in the fearless On the Line".^[17]

Ryan Adams' involvement

A month prior to the album's release, Ryan Adams, who helped produce the record, was accused by several women of sexual misconduct.^[18] After the album was released, Lewis told Pitchfork: "The allegations are so serious and shocking and really fucked up, and I was so sad on so many levels when I heard, I hate that he's on this album, but you can't rewrite how things went. We started the record together two years ago, and he worked on it — we were in the studio for five days. Then he pretty much bounced, and I had to finish the album by myself."^[19]