Whether its songs were autobiographical or not, Tanglewood Numbers carried the weight of the hard times David Berman survived before making the album. By contrast, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea is one of the Silver Jews' lightest albums, at times surpassing the most playful moments of Starlite Walker and American Water. Berman's sly sense of humor has always been a vital -- maybe even the most vital -- ingredient in the Silver Jews' music, but some of the songs here are so goofy, at least on the surface, they might put off fans who want him to be only a serious writer or wry raconteur. "Party Barge" opens with gleefully fake seagull sound effects and just gets wackier from there, with Berman and his wife, Cassie, trading off lyrics like "Send me your coordinates and I'll send a Saint Bernard." Yet even the silliest-seeming songs aren't trivial -- and like most Silver Jews songs, they're eminently quotable: the album's longest and wildest song, "San Francisco B.C.," a six-minute epic involving an ex-girlfriend who is a "vocal martyr in the vegan press," has almost as many narrative developments as a small novel; "Candy Jail" may have fittingly sugary marimba melodies, but the first words out of Berman's mouth are "pain works on a sliding scale." The darkness that drove much of Tanglewood Numbers resurfaces from time to time on Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, sometimes in strange places, like the breakneck story-song "Aloysius, Bluegrass Drummer," where a star-crossed romance with a very hungry country singer and the mysterious "region 10" combine in surreal, sinister ways. However, even on the album's most inward-looking song, the gorgeous "My Pillow Is the Threshold," which explores the night life of dreaming, that darkness feels like it's been put into a more manageable perspective. Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea also boasts a few quintessential Silver Jews songs, including the opening track, "What Is Not But Could Be If," a lonesome, open-ended musing where the rumble of Berman's slightly frail baritone sounds like the missing link between Johnny Cash and Calvin Johnson. "Suffering Jukebox" is another classic from its title onward; written in sympathy of the mostly ignored jukeboxes in honky tonks everywhere, it's just another example of how the Silver Jews find imaginative perspectives on classic country sounds and imagery. They go a step farther on "We Could Be Looking for the Same Thing," delivering a love song sweet and straightforward enough to be a hit in a parallel country-pop universe, lyrics like "I hope I don't come across as a coyote in your eyes" and all. Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea reveals more poetic, as well as playful, layers with each listen -- and above all, underscores what an inviting songwriter Berman is, whether he's taking a darker or lighter approach.
--- - |- MP3: Silver Jews - Aloyisius Bluegrass Drummer NOTE: Today's contribution comes from country bumpkin Matt Giordano, who I'd imagine from this post is enjoying some cool refreshments in the hard down south that is NYC. Yee haw (hick for Fuck yeah)!With a new album out filled with country-rock goodness, D.C. Berman's sixth record continues his fine tradition of get the bumpkins...
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http://www.splicetoday.com/music/album-review-silver-jews-i-lookout-mountain-lookout-sea-i?utm_source=mog&utm_medium=pv&utm_campaign=06240914The best lyricist in rock straightens out and lightens up, so it's a shame his new album isn't a little better to celebrate.
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*rating* 8.0*summary* croaking, twangy Jews grow stronger without big-brother Pavement around to steal all the sad-sack rocker love.I once read a review of a Pavement album, I can't remember which one...doesn't matter...that described Steve Malkmus and co. as the "most atonal, non-musically inclined people making the best damn music i've ever heard". Though a little broad, that sentiment is th...
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--- - |- MP3: Silver Jews - Aloyisius Bluegrass Drummer NOTE: Today's contribution comes from country bumpkin Matt Giordano, who I'd imagine from this post is enjoying some cool refreshments in the hard down south that is NYC. Yee haw (hick for Fuck yeah)!With a new album out filled with country-rock goodness, D.C. Berman's sixth record continues his fine tradition of get the bumpkins...
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Nashville, Tennessee based indie rock husband and wife duo Silver Jews will release their 6th full length album entitled ??Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea??(Drag City) in June, according to a spokesperson for the band.??David & Cassie Berman??The album will be the group's follow up to 2005's ??Tanglewood Numbers??, an album which broke the Silver Jews long-standing touring ban. David Berman had l...
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Silver Jews frontman David Berman is ditching music and becoming a screenwriter...or a muckracker. He's calling it quits with the band he shares with his wife Cassie and started 20 years ago. "I'm forty two and I know what to do," he told fans in the band's forum, Drag City "I'm a writer, see?"(Another sign of how bad the music industry is -- frontman gonna try and sling it in Hollywood.)"I alw...
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I am loving the new, slightly more folk-tinged Silver Jews record, 'Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea'...David Berman's sligtly off vocals fit these slightly country lyrics oh so well.
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*rating* 8.0*summary* croaking, twangy Jews grow stronger without big-brother Pavement around to steal all the sad-sack rocker love.I once read a review of a Pavement album, I can't remember which one...doesn't matter...that described Steve Malkmus and co. as the "most atonal, non-musically inclined people making the best damn music i've ever heard". Though a little broad, that sentiment is th...
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This podcast is a mixed bag of rock, pop and folk, some stuff that's new to pat radio and some old favorites. Ben Hamilton of BenCo Presents stops by to talk about the series of concerts at the Milo Arts Center and give away a pair of Silver Jews tickets. As I type this, no one has claimed those Silver Jews tickets. Download, listen, win. Stream: http://patradio.org/blix/wimpy.php Make wit...
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http://www.splicetoday.com/music/album-review-silver-jews-i-lookout-mountain-lookout-sea-i?utm_source=mog&utm_medium=pv&utm_campaign=06240914The best lyricist in rock straightens out and lightens up, so it's a shame his new album isn't a little better to celebrate.
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One of my favorite songs of 2008, video courtesy of Pitchfork.TV if that doesnt work then go here
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Right off the bat, I'm going to openly and officially claim the proceeding interview as a "success". I'm sure that you will all draw your own conclusions and, most likely, many of them will be different than mine. Many of you will even leave your own comments contradicting my assessment. I probably didn't ask the [...]
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A new Silver Jews album is an event in my book. It happens about once every three years and I end up looking forward to it for months, like back in high school when everyone knew exactly who there favorite band was. Here are a few things about this upcoming event that are stoking the flames of awesomeness: 1) it's called Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. 2) Songs titles include "Party Barge" and "...
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Dance party in the Woodman kitchen last night. Maybe it was because I wanted to give a shout out to my Jewish brethren on Yom Kippur or maybe it was the fact that I was given a last minute hall pass tomorrow night for the Silver Jews show at the Metro. Either or, Mommy wasn't [...]
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 "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea")
