Wanted to start today after a brief jaunt to the crazy streets of Wildwood to highlight another discovery, one that unfortunately comes concurrent with that chapter’s sad ending. The discovery — twenty years past apparently everyone else’s unearthing — was of David Berman, singer/songwriter for the Silver Jews. I found him because the music sites were working themselves into a lather back in May with a flurry of headlines extolling his return — “Surprise single” from “reclusive”/”infamous” David Berman of the “legendary” Silver Jews, “returns with first new music in 11 years.” All of it accompanied by photos of this guy with a dark aviators, an occasional trucker hat, and wispy dark hair, looking something of a cross between Judah from 30 Rock and a bearded Nick Cave.
It seemed like a lot of interest (and superlatives) for someone I’d never heard of, so I started reading up and listening to the music. The story was intriguing — gifted songwriter whose lyrics are cited by some of indie’s leading lights as inspiration starts a band with Pavement pal Stephen Malkmus the same year they release their debut, gets pissed because it was described as a “Pavement side project,” fires both Pavement pals and releases his second album without them, eventually lets them back in for the rave reviewed/”instant classic” third, then spends the next ten years releasing three more albums (sometimes with them, sometimes without them) while increasingly struggling with depression, drugs, and suicide (all dealt with openly and pointedly in his lyrics, as well as an infamous Fader article), refusing to do almost any interviews or even tour before calling it all off in 2009 and disappearing completely from public view. Cue 10-plus years where the legend/mystery grows before suddenly reappearing in May with that “surprise single” from his new band, Purple Mountains.
Said single was the effervescently titled “All My Happiness is Gone,” whose opening verse grabs you from the outset:
Friends are warmer than gold when you’re old And keeping them is harder than you might suppose Lately, I tend to make strangers wherever I go Some of them were once people I was happy to know
Cast off with what turns out to be Berman’s deadpan baritone, you almost miss the sadness packed into those words amidst the sunny melody. By the time you get to the end of the second verse, though, you understand just how dire the situation is (if the title wasn’t enough of a clue) — “Feels like something really wrong has happened/And I confess I’m barely hanging on.” The rest of the album stays in that vein — lyrics like “Humbled by the void, most of my faith has been destroyed” or “The light of my life is going out tonight without a flicker of regret” butt up against song titles like “Darkness and Cold,” “Maybe I’m the Only One for Me,” and the aforementioned single. Which is not to say it’s a dour, mopey affair — backed by former faves Woods there’s a sonic brightness that belies the lyrical darkness, and Berman’s sense of humor remains subtle, yet sharp. (The songs “She’s Making Friends, I’m Turning Stranger,” “Margaritas at the Mall,” and the aforementioned “Only One” being but a few examples.) That latter piece is similar to Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch, who Berman occasionally sounds like on his early Silver Jews records.
Unfortunately, it seems the inspiration for those words — whether recent events (Berman apparently separated from his wife/bandmate of 20 years this year and was living in the apartment above his label’s offices in Chicago) or a lifetime of struggling — became too much to bear as Berman took his own life this week. It’s a sad end to what has been an engaging catalog of songs — as I plowed through his latest album I also dived back into his former band’s offerings and have found plenty to enjoy. Berman has a gift for writing some memorable lines (again similar to Martsch in that aspect) and that third album in particular has some really good songs. (“Random Rules,” “Smith & Jones Forever,” among others)
In the wake of his passing Pitchfork posted their 15 favorites, which span his career (and include those two). I’d start with “Random,” not only because it’s a solid song, but because the video was shot in my old neighborhood and it’s always good to see what’s at the end of the Rainbo, site of many a late night (and cheap beer). Give it (and the rest) a listen, and pay your respects for another gifted life ended too soon as you do. (And as we did after the passing of Anthony Bourdain and Scott Hutchison, if you know anyone struggling with depression or in need of help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1.800.273.8255) or click here to chat with someone online.)
We’ll stay in my beloved city by the lake with another Berman collaborator (and another gifted lyricist who’s candidly struggled with drugs and depression in the past), Jeff Tweedy. His band Wilco recently released the first single from their upcoming release Ode to Joy (due 4 Oct), their first since 2016’s Schmilco (which landed at #9 on that year’s annual wrapup). It’s another lovely little shuffle, similar in tone to Tweedy’s solo album WARM (which landed at #15 on last year’s list). If history is any guide I’m sure the rest of the album will follow suit — check “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” out in the meantime:
We’ll leave the lake and jump across the pond to the UK and the latest from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Their last EP was a little too synthy for me — which shouldn’t be a surprise as the eight of you are well aware of my hatred for unnecessary (ie all) synths — but the lead single from their second EP of the same name, This is the Place, is more reminiscent of the cinematic songs from his previous outings. (Including 2017’s Who Built the Moon?,which landed at #11 on that year’s list here.) Hopefully the rest of the EP keeps this up:
We’ll stay in the UK and post the latest from another band whose recent offering tripped my antitheSYNTH campaign, that of the Foals and their Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost — Part 1, which came out earlier this year. It was a bit underwhelming at first, but has grown on me in subsequent listens — still not going to be a favorite, but there are a couple good tracks on there. (And just to prove I don’t know what I’m talking about, it just made the shortlist for the 2019 Mercury prize.) Thankfully Part 2 is supposed to be a return to form, restoring the power (literally and figuratively) of Jimmy Smith’s guitar, which was so muted in Part 1. Lead single “Black Bull” is a promising sign, an unvarnished ripper in the vein of the band’s more aggressive approach on What Went Down (which landed at #7 on 2015’s list here). Crank it up and give it a spin — rest of the album should drop 18 October:
We’ll close with a final kick in the can, this from UK punks IDLES (whose album was ALSO just nominated for the 2019 Mercury prize). It’s the B-side to their latest single and while I may not know exactly what they’re talking about (I dream guillotine?), there’s something oddly satisfying with frontman Joe Talbot shouting “all aboard the cocaine ghost train” over and over again at the end. A solid back end to the Foals track and a modest way to try moving past the posts’s sad start:
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, hence the longer than usual (at least of late) delay from yours truly. There’s been playoff runs in hockey and regular season baseball to watch, houses to inspect, things to paint, beer to brew, and jobs to investigate (cuz I gots ta get the f####################k outta here — ASAP (call me!)) all while continuing to work 50-60 hours a week in my totally rewarding (and not at all spirit demolishing) day job with Tio Samuel. I’ve been keeping a tab on things flying out of the speakers, though, so wanted to pop in to share. Since time’s short (gotta get back to that job hunt, son!) it feels appropriate to revive another fan favorite (the mail/tweets from the three of you have been overwhelming) and hold another round of Sunshine Speed Dating. So without further ado….here we go!
DING! “Hi! What’s your name? Borild? How do you say that? Borild. Borild. Is that right? It sounds like you’re saying “bored” — are you bored? We’ve only been talking for seven seconds! Seven seconds too long you say? Ha ha — you’re funny…. (trails off, stares at his loafers)” First up meet the pop punk Beachheads, a four-way from Norway that apparently spawned out of the “black metal party band Kvelertak,” according to AllMusic (which is as intriguing a label as I’ve heard in a while). Thankfully they play to the lighter side of those genres, harnessing the energy of their punk side while keeping the mood bright (sonically, at least — the lyrics on the lead single from their upcoming album are about the rise of fascism so……) They’ve got some pretty catchy stuff — that lead single’s a good jumping off spot. Check out “Death of a Nation” here:
Next! “Hey — good to see you again! What’s with the cherry red sex suit and cowboy hat? Oh you’re getting over a divorce and struggling to deal with the trappings of fame? That’s what your latest album is about, too? That sounds heavy — but where exactly does the outfit play into that? Just working some things out, huh? Well — I feel for ya. I saw you guys live a few years back and you were one of the best shows of the festival. You were performing in a sundress that time, though, so doesn’t seem like the divorce had much to do with the questionable wardrobe choices. You do you, though — I just hope the leather breathes as much as that sundress. Just shout if you’re feeling lightheaded — good luck out there!” Back with their fifth studio album, the eclectic pack of Kentucky wildcats from Cage bring their usual wide-ranging mix of sounds to bear, this time throwing in some 80s and reggae elements to differing effect. It’s a mixed bag, but the lead single “Ready to Let Go” is a winner — give it a ride here:
Neeeeeeeeeeeext! “Hello there — where are you from? DUBLIN, eh? That’s lovely — Ireland’s a lovely country. I got married there! Yes, I know it’s weird for a married person to be at a speed dating event — how about you leave the judgment at the door there, pal? I don’t tell you what to do with your lucky charms, do I? Anyway — what do you do for a living (other than get all up in other people’s business)? Oh, you’re in a band, huh? That’s cool — what’s its name? Silverbacks? Isn’t that the shitty rock band that sang “How You Remind Me?” With the giant guy with the long, wavy blond hair singing? I thought they were from Canada… Are you SURE that’s not you? Sounds like I’m not the only one who might have some explaining to do, huh, pal?” Name similarity aside, I can confirm that this five piece is NOT from Canada and has never appeared on rock radio singing crappy songs like the aforementioned. Unfortunately, that’s about all I can tell you — the band is Irish, has three guitarists, and a grand total of nine songs on their Bandcamp page (1 EP and 4 singles). That’s about it — they’re all pretty solid, but my favorite is the single “Dunkirk,” whose jittery, sparse start builds to a satisfying release midway through. Give it a spin here:
Next up — “Oh hi there — you must be from Philly! How’d I guess? You mean other than the fact that you, like every other person I know from Philly, have at least three pieces of green and/or Eagles gear visible at all times AND mention it within thirty seconds of meeting someone? It must’ve been a lucky guess. I do love Philly, though — I’d slap my grandma for a pork sandwich from Dinic’s. You don’t have one on you, do you? Oh I just assumed you guys kept a couple spares in a cooler in your car, just in case you ever get stranded or need to barter once the zombie apocalypse hits. I do with beefs from Porti’s so…might want to give it some thought…” Spirit of the Beehive is another five piece with not a ton out there right now — looks like they’ve got two albums out, but not a ton of press. Their latest, Hypnic Jerks, is an interesting listen with some weird field recordings stitched between some psychedelic guitars. It loses steam for me over the duration, but there’s a couple good songs before it does, including the title track, which you can listen to here:
DOUBLE TROUBLE ROUND! “Why hello! Lemme guess — you’re from Philly, too, huh? Oh I dunno — must’ve been the elaborate hand slaps and chest bumps you just exchanged with the last group as they were leaving. That or all the shouting about ‘the fuckin’ Birds!’ It’s ok, I was just telling the last crew how much I like that town — hey, you don’t happen to have anything to eat in that cooler, do you? Something pork-based perhaps? Nah nevermind — you can keep the sandwich. Only a communist puts whiz on a steak and cheese and NO ONE thinks lettuce and tomato on a warm sandwich is a good idea. I like where you’re head’s at writ large, though — gotta be ready for dem zombies. Maybe THEY will think whiz and wilted lettuce are preferable to brains…” This latest batch of Philly fanatics are Hop Along and I stumbled on them at the end of the year as their latest, Bark Your Head Off, Dog, was on a few folks’ best of lists. It’s a pretty good listen, but what puts these guys over the top is lead singer Frances Quinlan’s voice — at times sweet and cooing, others raspy and roaring, it’s a powerful weapon that’s tough to ignore. Check out “How Simple” here (bonus track on Sunshine Radio is “The Fox in Motion”):
NEXT! ” Howdy howdy — oh don’t tell me, you’re from Philly too?!? Baltimore!? Well why the hell were you high fiving and hand jiving those guys?! Yeah I know it’s fun, but you hate the Eagles! So what if they’re both birds?! I don’t think you understand how this works… Anyway — I love B-mas, too, so guess I can see liking things from both places. Lex Mark is the jam — not as good as Reading, but the people watching more than makes up for the gap in food offerings. Just grab a sleeve of Berger’s cookies and watch the show! We were there one time when the band started playing Bruno Mars and it was like someone just reanimated the dead — some maaaaaaaaaaaangy lookin’ cats just started spasming in the courtyard and didn’t stop for 20 minutes. One lady was pole dancing with the column, another dude was provocatively dancing with a chain barrier, a tiny Asian lady with sunglasses on inside started freaking in place. Amazing. Does your music make people want to do that? No? More cry alone in their darkened bedroom? Oh well I guess there’s a need for that too.  Hey are you even old enough to be in here? Whatever — have fun. Go birds! (Wait…)” The underage interloper in this case is Lindsey Jordan, who was a whopping 16 years old when she released her debut EP Habit three years ago and a positively geriatric 18 when she released her full length Lush last year. I stumbled on this one same as I did the aforementioned Hop Along, traipsing thru peoples’ year end lists, and while her debut gets a little monotone by the end, Graham’s shimmery voice and dream-like aura has enough bright spots to get you coming back. Try “Pristine” for a taste (bonus radio track here is “Thinning” from the EP):
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXT! “Oh hi, Karen O! I love your old band, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. At least until they started getting all dancey and weird, that is. Taking the fire out of Nick Zinner’s guitar is like taking the makeup off of KISS — it’s kind of sad and a little horrifying to look at. I loved it when you guys were super raw and punky. I saw you back at the Showbox in Seattle for your debut album and it was amazing. You poured beer all over yourself and were shouting at the crowd. What are you doing now? Oh more dancey music? Like a full on trippy disco album? With Danger Mouse producing? (ahgoddamnityouguys) Oh ok, well, I guess that’s cool too? What’s in the past is past I suppose — I never thought disco was all that cool, but I DID wear baggy pleated pants and a gold rope chain so…..I guess we all have things we’ll want to forget. Anyway, good luck with the side projects — tell Nick and Brian hi!” So yeah — Karen O, Danger Mouse, disco music….it’s not what you wanted (or at least not what I wanted), but there are still a couple catchy moments. Lead single “Woman” is a retro blast from the 60s, replete with a Motown shine and an empowering message. Give it a go here (bonus track for Sunshine Radio is “Turn the Light”):
DING! “Oh hello, handsome — who are you? BONES? Well isn’t that positively ominous. How’d you get that nickname? Because you’re tough as nails and eat bones for breakfast? Because you’re a man of the street and survived by throwin’ dice? Because you’re only good at two things — kicking ass and making love and it sounded kind of silly to name yourself after the first one? You know what, don’t tell me — the mystery is more alluring. What kind of music do you play, Bones? The blues, huh? Another white boy playing the blues. Well that’s original I guess — who else have you played with? Bon Jovi?! And Kid Rock!? Oh christ — I’m not sure about this. Eh, whatever — you’ve got a lot of tattoos and seem like a bad boy. Why not — it feels so good to rebel…” This one comes from the mail bag and my old pal down in Texas who suggested ole Bones Owens recently. And while on paper I shouldn’t like him (and in practice some of the songs do seem a little superficial, but maybe that’s just cuz I’m hating on a boy from Missouri not being able to sing the blues authentically), some of the songs get thru in spite of the resistance. Try “Keep it Close” (bonus track for the radio is “Long Long Time”):
UK LIGHTNING ROUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUND! “Hi there! So you’re from England, eh? Cool — I like Newcastle. Excellent brown ale you’ve got there. Pretty crappy soccer team, but one of my old favorite players used to play there, good old Obafemi Martins. I used to love when he’d do backflips after scoring goals. I tried doing that once, nearly landed myself in the hospital. Yeah, those kids were pretty horrified — I’m sure they’ll grow out of it. Who remembers what happened at their 7th birthday party? Oh you do? You got a bike? And had a raspberry flavored cake? And your friend Timmy got stung by a bee and wouldn’t stop crying? Oh — well. Bully for you, I guess. Hope those kids don’t have the same recall — I lost six teeth and needed a transfusion from all the blood I lost…”
DING! “Hullo luv! Isn’t that what they say in your country? I’m pretty sure. So how are you — you’re from Newcastle too, huh? That’s too funny! Do you know those last guys? They’re also from there! Delightful cunts. I think you say that in your country, too, right? I’m not sure why we don’t say it more here — it’s quite fun. Hey so you guys must really love Queens of the Stone Age to mimic them so closely — you sound just like their early stuff! What do you mean you don’t understand — like, it’s uncanny. I think you even rip a few of their riffs off verbatim. It’s ok, I LOVE old Queens so am glad to hear some more songs like that since they’ve kinda left that sound behind a bit. Oh come on — EVERYONE knows who Queens are. Dave Grohl played with them, and Will Ferrell performed with them when they were on SNL before? Cmon — that’s like pretending you’ve never heard of ABBA or the Rolling Stones?! Now see that’s unnecessary — when you call me a cunt it sounds really harsh. Why are you being like this? Aw come back! CMON!”
DING! “Hey Yannis, great to see you again! You guys are one of my faves — I’ve seen you a bunch live and you’re always outstanding. What’ve you been up to lately? Oh you guys have TWO new albums coming out this year? That’s fantastic! Wait they’re about an apocalyptic future with a bunch of lyrics about foxes for some reason? AND you wanted the sound to be a lot dancier than before? LOTS of synths? (ahforfuckssake) Why’d you decide that was a good idea? Did you hear what I was telling Karen O about taking the piss out of Nick Zinner’s guitar? It’s the same with Jimmy — his stuff is always super catchy and ornate. Why does every band suddenly decide adding synths and going disco/dancey is a good fucking plan — I never once have thought, ‘You know what — tonight I’m gonna put on a silk shirt, throw a little mascara under my eyes, and just play keyboards all night. That’s what I’ve been missing!’ Whatever — I’ve gotta go…”
DING! “Justin Vernon, what are you doing here, you’re not British? Oh well that’s ok, you’re quirky and polite so I guess it’s fine. I love it over there too so don’t blame you — yeah anyplace but here these days, right? Anyway — I heard you’ve got some new music coming out, that’s exciting! Oh it’s going to be a continuation of the stuff you did on your last album, a lot of weird electronic noises and erratic jazz outbursts? And expand on the feel from the album you did with the guy from the National? Equal parts Bruce Hornsby and dancing Thom Yorke? With no guitar. Just TONS of keyboards. Holy christ. Ok. I gotta go — I can’t take this anymore…”
We’ll close with a couple articles, first a recap of the recent Rapture reunion with a ranking of their best songs courtesy of Stereogum. Similar to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs who hit around the same time, I loved these guys’ early albums — their marriage of punky brashness with danceable grooves was irresistible — and the list does a good job running through their best songs. (Two key omissions are “Sister Saviour” and “Get Myself Into It,” but they get bonus points for picking “Ben” and “Out of the Races,” which are two sleeper faves.) Last comes another one from the ‘Gum, this one an excellent piece on the 20th anniversary of the White Stripes’ debut (exhibit 7400 I am O.A.F.) — yet another band whose early stuff I adored before leaving that energy and fire behind for odder and odder flourishes. The article does a good job making the case for sincerity trumping pedigree in the debate for who can play what music (appropriate with the above discussion on Bones), as I always loved these guys — whether they were white kids from Detroit or true bluesmen/women from the Delta. Their shit just ripped, and this was a great setup to their future power. Two faves not mentioned in the article are “Astro” and “Screwdriver” — we’ll add those to the radio, though. In the meantime, give it a read and crank it up.
