I'm Not Jim

Considering novelist Jonathan Lethem’s grasp of rock’n’roll culture, displayed in such books as You Don’t Love Me Yet and his masterpiece, The Fortress Of Solitude, it’s not surprising that he’s made the leap to songwriting on this project, a collaboration with Silos leader Walter Salas-Humara. In many ways, Lethem couldn’t have picked a better partner, since the Silos have steadfastly stuck to a uniquely American literary songwriting tradition that has weathered the arrivals of both alt-rock and alt-country. Heavy doses of both are the musical foundation of You Are All My People, leaving Lethem the obvious challenge of doing something new with these established forms. He pulls it off in large part precisely because he doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel, instead allowing his instincts to craft detailed, character-driven vignettes tied together by the modern-day ennui found in his best prose. A handful of spoken word pieces by Lethem highlight this even more but overall, You Are All My People is an honest, thought-provoking and at times, fun experiment that will demand repeated listening.