It's the Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through

• Artist: Jeffrey Lewis with Jack Lewis & Anders Griffin
• Rating:
• Release Date: August 05, 2003
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Folk

Review

Jeffrey Lewis is a comic book writer and illustrator, which makes sense when you hear his intimate anti-folk narratives. It's the Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through sounds like the musical equivalent of a comic -- it's homespun, fractured, naïve, and innocent in the same manner as Daniel Johnston's music. From the bittersweet life story of "Back When I Was 4" to the acoustic thrash of "No LSD Tonight," Lewis traffics in epic streams of consciousness that are sad, hilarious, touching, and disturbing. On this, his sophomore full-length, Lewis broadens his sound, adding odd moments of viola and found recordings to his usual fingerpicking; but one listen to a track like "Don't Let the Record Company Take You Out to Lunch" proves that Lewis' music is as sparklingly lo-fi and homey as ever. A member of the same New York City scene as the Moldy Peaches (he did their cover art, after all), Lewis is far less scatological. His music sounds more genuine and heartfelt, without the alienation that accompanies some listeners' experiences with the Peaches. Overall, It's the Ones Who've Cracked sounds broken and lost, but there is a real beauty and sense of life in Lewis' music, which is captured even more impressively when he allows his sound to drift along with expanded instrumentation and splintering ambience. ~ Charles Spano, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Back When I Was 4	Jeffrey Lewis	Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen	(4:43)
Alphabet	Jeffrey Lewis	Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen	(2:21)
No LSD Tonight	Jeffrey Lewis	Anders Griffen, Jack Lewis, Jeffrey Lewis	(2:36)
Don't Let the Record Label Take You out to Lunch	Jeffrey Lewis	Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen	(2:06)
Gold	Jeffrey Lewis	Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen	(4:34)
Texas	Jeffrey Lewis	Anders Griffen, Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis	(1:05)
Sea Song	Jeffrey Lewis	Anders Griffen, Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis	(6:23)
Arrow	Jeffrey Lewis	Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen	(4:23)
Zaster	Jeffrey Lewis	Anders Griffen, Jack Lewis, Jeffrey Lewis	(1:00)
If You Shoot the Head You Kill the Ghoul	Jeffrey Lewis	Anders Griffen, Jack Lewis, Jeffrey Lewis	(2:48)
I Saw a Hippie Girl on 8th Ave.	Jeffrey Lewis	Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen, Jeffrey Lewis	(2:02)
Graveyard	Jeffrey Lewis	Jeffrey Lewis, Anders Griffen, Jack Lewis	(3:12)
You Don't Have to Be a Scientist to Do Experiments on Your Own Heart	Jeffrey Lewis	Jeffrey Lewis, Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen	(3:12)

Credits

Ben Ayres (Tamboura), Jack Lewis (Bass), Jack Lewis (Vocals), Jack Lewis (Strings), Jeffrey Lewis (Mixing), Ashley Miller (Viola), Anders Griffen (Drums), Anders Griffen (Vocals)