Biography
Walter Salas-Humara and writer Jonathan Lethem met at a Silos
gig in New Orleans. Jonathan describes, "I'm a two-decade Silos fan,
and have seen Walter play in the various incarnations of his band eight
or nine times over the years. When I introduced myself to him it was in
the interest of sending him a few of my books, just as a token
thank-you for his music. We got talking about writing some songs
together. I hardly thought Walter needed help in any sense; he's one of
the great American songwriters (see: "The Only Story I Tell", "Susan
Across The Ocean", "I'm Over You" and so many others...) but I was
flattered at the idea of supplying a Silos lyric or two. Walter,
however, surprised me, and delighted me, with the focus of his intent
-- he wanted to write a whole album with me, from the ground up, and to
get outside his "Silos voice". We began writing and the result was sort
of explosive -- giddy pop songs and mournful blues that came from their
own strange angle, not quite like what either of us expected."So
what exactly do these song sound like? Lethem and Humara’s songwriting
takes the ordinary pop, folk, or blues song and makes it the occasion
for what you might call ‘serious play’ – every lyric is grounded in
emotion, but emotion twisted by language and wit into something
recognizable but new. The melodies that spring from Walter’s voice
fitting itself to these unexpected syllables push the strength and
warmth of his Silos work to a new range, sometimes featuring a
Dylanesque self-consciousness or humor, sometimes a Nick Drake
introspection. And when the skewed brilliance of the songs meets the
paisley-pop-electronic-remix chops of Maxwell and Hernandez – the
Elegant Too – the result always cuts against simple interpretation,
pushing all the charm toward menace, and the sorrow toward ecstasy.(From Bloodshot Records, 5/27/09)
gig in New Orleans. Jonathan describes, "I'm a two-decade Silos fan,
and have seen Walter play in the various incarnations of his band eight
or nine times over the years. When I introduced myself to him it was in
the interest of sending him a few of my books, just as a token
thank-you for his music. We got talking about writing some songs
together. I hardly thought Walter needed help in any sense; he's one of
the great American songwriters (see: "The Only Story I Tell", "Susan
Across The Ocean", "I'm Over You" and so many others...) but I was
flattered at the idea of supplying a Silos lyric or two. Walter,
however, surprised me, and delighted me, with the focus of his intent
-- he wanted to write a whole album with me, from the ground up, and to
get outside his "Silos voice". We began writing and the result was sort
of explosive -- giddy pop songs and mournful blues that came from their
own strange angle, not quite like what either of us expected."So
what exactly do these song sound like? Lethem and Humara’s songwriting
takes the ordinary pop, folk, or blues song and makes it the occasion
for what you might call ‘serious play’ – every lyric is grounded in
emotion, but emotion twisted by language and wit into something
recognizable but new. The melodies that spring from Walter’s voice
fitting itself to these unexpected syllables push the strength and
warmth of his Silos work to a new range, sometimes featuring a
Dylanesque self-consciousness or humor, sometimes a Nick Drake
introspection. And when the skewed brilliance of the songs meets the
paisley-pop-electronic-remix chops of Maxwell and Hernandez – the
Elegant Too – the result always cuts against simple interpretation,
pushing all the charm toward menace, and the sorrow toward ecstasy.(From Bloodshot Records, 5/27/09)
