Silver Jews - Bright Flight (Album Review)

 

Silver Jews - Bright Flight

(2001)

My copy: 2001 press by Drag City.

David Berman wrote Bright Flight entirely himself (excluding one cover), making it the second Silver Jews album to not feature original member Stephen Malkmus at the time. The tone embraces a more typical country-rock/roots style albeit with Berman’s eccentric twists keeping things interesting. While the structures and instrumentals offer little in terms of unique sound, the production has been significantly upgraded and each track finds itself as a comfortable backdrop for Berman’s assorted poems. 

The album opens with all the typical country signifiers, from a weeping lap steel to jangling piano and acoustic guitar - the only outlier being Berman’s trademark brand of occasionally dark humor. Come 1999 Berman had married Cassie Marrett, and she began to feature on tracks like “Room Games And Diamond Rain” which seemed to showcase a much more content and loving side of Berman. The music is more intimate when compared to the dynamic and biting rock tunes of American Water, but these new clothes fit nicely as Berman adjusts to his new perspective in marriage. 

“Time Will Break The World” proves that it isn’t all sunshine for Berman now, as distortion and feedback are invited in to accompany lyrical warnings. “I Remember Me” may be the pinnacle of Berman’s storytelling, with a heart wrenching tale about love and loss that is made even more effective by its patient and deliberate compositional structure. In the name of variety, “Horseleg Swastikas” fully commits to haunting reverberations, departing from country with wistful piano arrangements, topped off with addicting vocal melodies. As usual, Berman includes a lone instrumental track in the foreboding “Transylvania Blues” which cleverly mixes the lap steel guitar with gentle and ghostly synth atmosphere. 

The shuttering percussion of “Let’s Not And Say We Did” livens up what is already a fun piece of levity with ragtime piano and eerie background guitar noise. Again paying homage to Nashville and Cassie, “Tennessee” is an undeniably cute love song containing notable examples of Berman’s wit (“We’ll move to Nashville where I’ll make a career/writing sad songs and getting paid by the tear”). Covering George Strait with “Friday Night Fever,” the track is made his own through Berman’s gravely deadpan delivery. The album concludes with a final ballad that pays bittersweet tribute to friends that had passed on. 

So, while the more lively writing of American Water had been diminished, Bright Flight pushes on with humility and deeper emotional honesty from Berman. The effect of his recent marriage is as noticeable in his mood here as his eventual divorce would be on his final release as Purple Mountains. Though tonally the record feels like a step backwards, the more sophisticated and personable production helps to relay Berman’s intent on a whole new level.