The Silver Jews' last album, 2005's Tanglewood
Numbers,
felt like a huge exhale after a career—such as it was—of
introverted, downcast poetic weirdness. David Berman inadvertently built
himself a legend: He refused to play live, he didn't speak to the press, and he
was nearly always associated with his pal (and occasional bandmate) Stephen
Malkmus. But Tanglewood, released post-suicide-attempt and life-turnaround, brought him
out of the haze and into a happier place, though it did explore some of the
dark journey. The results were only half-engaging, a problem that Lookout
Mountain, Lookout Sea
suffers a bit from as well. He hasn't lost the sardonic smarts, but there's a
sense of lightness—the playful, country-ish rock is more playful and
country-ish—that by its nature removes some of the gravity and graveness
of his songs. It's unkind to begrudge a great lyricist some real-life joy, but
more traditional tracks (like "Suffering Jukebox," featuring vocals from
Berman's wife Cassie, and "Party Barge") just don't have the impact of Berman's
finest. Still, he finds his best tone on occasion here: "San Francisco B.C." is
one of his epic stories, and "My Pillow Is The Threshold" could stand with some
of his greatest. It's no American Water or Starlite Walker, but better a happy
Silver Jews than none at all.