++ALBUM++ review by Daniel Ross

SILVER JEWS - Lookout Mountain Lookout Sea

Released 10th June 08 on Drag City

Twenty years on from their incarnation as the nucleus of Pavement, the journey of the Joos continues with their sixth LP. And as Daniel Ross reports, things are looking pretty damn healthy...

Finally, after years of shivering outside of the limelight, David Berman’s Silver Jews step out roaring and beating their chests with their sixth LP.

Obviously the same entertaining insecurities are intact, but here they are merely a different colour rather than a shambolic framework to the whole record. Even the artwork smacks of new muscles being flexed and brutalities being humorously dashed off.

"fear not, lovers of cack-handed lo-fi; this is the sound of your brains growing up..."

Of course, Berman’s exceptional wordplay remains at the centre, but this time the musicians around him are far more capable. Zippy numbers like ‘Aloysius, Bluegrass Drummer’ are tighter than you thought the Joos could ever get, and languid tunes are now classily deployed instead of hacked.

For proof, look no further than the descending arpeggiated guitars of ‘Suffering Jukebox’ (a dead ringer for Pavement’s ‘Range Life'), and the scary swells at the end of ‘My Pillow Is The Threshold’

‘Party Barge’ shows off the most rewarding qualities of this newly recharged band. It sees Berman’s wife Cassie cooing the hilarious line "Send us your co-ordinates, we’ll send a St. Bernard", while her hubby crumbles on about the boat he’s just built, all to the vim-soaked accompaniment of some stomping rockabilly.

In essence, ‘Lookout Mountain Lookout Sea’ is triumphant. As good as any of their previous albums, but swaggering with instrumental prowess while poetry and prose supply the ultimate reason to keep coming back.

So fear not, lovers of cack-handed lo-fi; this is the sound of your brains growing up and appreciating the odd well-placed and tasteful guitar lick. Effortless, entertaining and a very positive omen for even better Silver Jews records to come.

++ Daniel Ross ++

Artrocker rating: 4

---

---