Kevin Bronson on March 15th, 2019

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A week away from the release of “On the Line,” her first solo album in five years, Jenny Lewis today unveiled its third single, “Wasted Youth.”

It’s classic singer-songwriter fare orchestrated by Lewis and her classic group of collaborators on the album — Don Was, Jim Keltner, Ryan Adams [pre-scandal, see her statement here], Benmont Tench and Ringo Starr. “I wasted my youth on a poppy,” the 43-year-old sings, inventorying her past, as often happens when one reaches a crossroads. In Lewis’ case, one of those came a couple years ago when she and longtime partner Johnathan Rice parted ways.

“A breakup is a beginning not an ending,” she tweeted earlier this month. (In an interview published today with the L.A. Times, she elaborates.)

Rather than mope, though, “Wasted Youth” finds Lewis moving briskly, almost merrily, forward. Listen to her “doo-doo doo-doo doo” all the way into the future.

||| Stream: “Wasted Youth”

||| Also: Stream “Heads Gonna Roll”

||| Live: Jenny Lewis does a free show at Amoeba Records on March 22 and Fingerprints in Long Beach on March 23. The latter is sold out. Lewis also headlines the Palladium on May 11. Tickets.

||| Previously: “Red Bull & Hennessy”