25 March 2008

I throw my thoughts like tomahawks into this world which I disown

drug store print over mom's bookcase, not sure of the artist...Hudson River School?

Allen Smithee's review of the Silver Jews' upcoming Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea:

Nevermind a light, Silver Jews fans now have an end of the tunnel, period. The wait for David Berman and co.'s sixth album, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, will end with its June 17 release on Drag City.

The follow-up to 2005's Tanglewood Numbers is the first Silver Jews record played by the touring lineup that formed in 2006 in defiance of Berman's previous refusal to tour: Berman, his wife Cassie, Tony Crow, Peyton Pinkerton, and William Tyler. Lookout Mountain's tracklist has been rearranged a bit since our initial report, and one thing we didn't know then was that "Open Field" is a cover of a Maher Shalal Hash Baz song.

Back to touring, the Jews' May appearances at the Primavera Sound Festival and the Explosions in the Sky ATP are just a couple of stops on a spring European jaunt. Then, for the fall, the band is planning a tour of the U.S. And according to The Tennessean, Berman will give a poetry reading at Nashville's Watkins College of Art and Design on March 12.
pitchforkmedia

"Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea sees David Berman once again as our tour guide into the void, all a-sweat and working hard, rumbling with terror and humility like old Johnny Cash, pointing out spots were some dreams died and other conceits were conceived. Almost alone out front at the top of "What Is Not But Could Be If," he's joined by the band; together their opening trot deceives us into fantasies of easing into Berman's latest head bath. But no dice as David has a head of steam and smoke, as evidenced by the antic pistol-pumping rhymes n' rhythms of "Aloysius, Bluegrass Drummer."

"Suffering Jukebox," and "My Pillow is The Threshold" strike one as the latest and most formal Silver Jews entries into the realm of the chart-worthy (and chat-worthy) song. One will not ignore the wide-hearted power of the chorus "Strange Victory, Strange Defeat" or the ear-pleasuring chime of "Open Field," (a Maher Shalal Hash Baz cover,) which might recall to old-timers their carefree days of R.E.M. fandom. . . for the days of '80s-'90s flavor are aflame again in these tunes!

"San Francisco B.C." is the centerpiece of the penultimate part of the climax of Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. A dramatic panorama of music history is on epic display behind a tale of dovetailing fates. Classic Bermanisms signal our arrival into "Candy Jail," an institution overflowing with assorted titular sweets as well as a few bitter treats too. Which leads us to the launch of "Party Barge" and then back to a Silver Jews' state of nature for the finale, where we wave goodbye to David Berman and his bunch, edified, intensified, stronger and ready."


Video for Ola Podrida's "Photobooth" , directed by Michael Tully, who also directed Silver Jew

1 comment:

Tema Stauffer said...

oh my god I love that drugstore print