Purple Mountains
Purple Mountains
Drag City
2019
Rating: Sadness.
I had been struggling with what I might write about the excellent self-titled Purple Mountains album that came out this past summer for a little while…and then David Berman committed suicide and now I don’t really want to write anything. I’m mostly just sad about it all, and maybe a touch angry at the world, and subsequently it has made this a tough record to listen to these days. Let it be known it’s very, very good though, very Berman in all the right ways, but to quote the youth – “I just can’t right now.” I need some time to pass before I can revisit this one. Hug your family and friends, life is short. Get help if you need it, please. Maybe once the sadness passes, listen to all things David Berman, because the man was really damn good at this…I just wish that had been enough to slake his demons.
Silver Jews
Tanglewood Numbers
Drag City
2005
Rating: 7.5 laundry barbeque out of 10
As someone who’s been a huge fan of the Silver Jews since the days when
most folks just considered it a
“Pavement side project”, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around their
newest release “Tanglewood Numbers.” It’s been
four years or so since the Silver Jews last put out an
album, and since then David Berman has struggled with any number of vices and
nearly managed to kill himself. This
fact alone is a big part of what makes this album especially
surprising…it could probably be
described as “upbeat.” Maybe Berman excised his demons
and we're left with a shinier, happier Silver Jews?
I dunno about that, but every time I even think about the new track
“Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed” it makes
me smile. In a lot of ways, the Jews are still mining a
Lambchop-ish Americana sound that they’ve gone to since
the beginning, but there are a few songs on this record that
might almost qualify as “rock” songs. The lyrics are
still amongst the best in the business…Berman is amongst the
best in the business at creating witty, literate songs,
but this batch is definitely a little askew of the norm. all in
all, it’s a great album for everyone - a new twist for us
long-time fans and a great place to start for any newcomers.
