Rough Trade

Jeffrey Lewis 'Em Are I' Out Now 20/04/09 in Jeffrey Lewis

Many people are saying that this is the release where Jeff has really hit his stride and become a ‘major player’, I’d say that this is the release where people have caught up with him. As usual Jeff delivers a collection of songs that lay bare every aspect of his own hyperactive neurosis like a kind of Woody Guthrie / Woody Allen blend, a traveling poet dedicating paeans to pattern baldness rather than dust bowls.

But this is only one aspect of what Jeff does, you can expect to hear about a talking pig, saving manatees and issues with leg room on public buses nestled amongst complex existential musings such as in ‘If Life Exists?’ where Jeff poses that it’s our uncertainty of the future that makes life interesting and explains that art best captures this and helps us to deal with it… “it’s hard to get too bored / when you pick the right two chords / and you keep on strumming / as if you don’t know what’s coming”. On ‘Slogans’ we’re told that “now that I’ve got it all on tape / I can really figure out its shape”. ‘Em Are I explains that it’s all relative, neither the cartoon character nor the philosopher has the answer; to quote Woody Allen: “I read Socrates. This guy knocked off little Greek boys.” The beauty is that there is no real answer, you’re free to make of it all what you will. Fun.

Get yours from Rough Trade, Amazon and iTunes with bonus commentary.

Comment