- American Water · 1998
- American Water · 1998
- The Natural Bridge · 1996
- Starlite Walker · 1994
- American Water · 1998
- Tanglewood Numbers · 2005
- The Natural Bridge · 1996
- American Water · 1998
- The Natural Bridge · 1996
- American Water · 1998
- American Water · 1998
- American Water · 1998
- The Natural Bridge · 1996
Essential Albums
- “In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection,” goes the opening line of Silver Jews’ third album, American Water. This line could be a stand-in for the entire LP, which is a sardonic, damaged, but ultimately masterful opus from David Berman and his band of country-inspired indie troubadours. Shuffling songs like “People” find him trading lines with part-time member Stephen Malkmus, while tracks like “Smith & Jones Forever” embody the album’s delicate balance of country mysticism and alt-rock wit.
- A plainer and more harrowing journey than its predecessor, Starlite Walker, The Natural Bridge is a compendium of despondence and comically terrifying imagery from singer/songwriter David Berman. Its instrumentation is perfunctorily strummy and unadorned; Berman’s vocals are a function of his storytelling and forego any pretense about the singer’s role in rock music. His wry delivery is the setup for a series of bittersweet punchlines—emphasis on “punch”—that extend the length of The Natural Bridge; this is the rare pop album that relies almost entirely on its words. The album is a loose description of a sour American road trip. Berman is attracted to bars and motels and abandoned towns, and he gravitates to unlikely locales: Cleveland, Dallas, Tchula. His protagonist is a perennial figure in the arts (the hopeless man with an undying heart), but even as The Natural Bridge crosses bleak chasms, Berman can't resist the pull of romance. In its final seconds, the album turns to the redemptive power of female companionship.
Albums
- 2012
- 2005
- 2001
- 1998
- 1996
- 1994
Music Videos
- 1998
Artist Playlists
- Looking back on the work of singer-songwriter David Berman (1967-2019).
- The rockers and country masters that informed them.
Singles & EPs
- 2001
About Silver Jews
Silver Jews is the musical alias of Kentucky-born poet Dave Berman. Berman uses a slightly off-kilter brand of Americana rock as a platform from which to sing-speak his fractured pop-culture-infused verse. Although Silver Jews achieved a certain notoriety for including Stephen Malkmus of Pavement and indie-country icon Will Oldham amongst their ranks, the band is very much Berman's project. Following a dark period of depression and drug-abuse in the early 2000s, Berman released the brilliant TANGLEWOOD NUMBERS in 2005.
- ORIGIN
- New York, NY, United States
- FORMED
- 1989
- GENRE
- Alternative