juLY 2019 • uNCuT• 7
“I
nretrospectit wouldseem
inadvisable,”saysUSsinger-
songwriterDavidBerman,
reflectingonhisdecisiontowind
upindieheroesSilverJewsin2009.
“Iwasputtingthekiboshona career
I neversawcomingbutalso,frankly,
neverthoughtI deserved– like
returninga stolencartotheplaceI’d
foundit beforedaybreak.That’spart
ofwhyit waseasy.”
Bermanbrokethenewsonline,
addingthatheneededtomoveonto
somethingelse– “screenwritingor
muckraking”– and,ina typically
drollkiss-offtothebandhe’d
co-foundedwithfuturePavement
duoStephenMalkmusandBob
nastanovich 20 yearsearlier,
warnedthathemighthave
accidentallywrittentheanswer
songtoREM’s“ShinyHappy
People”hadhecontinued.
notmuchhasbeenheardof
Bermansince,asidefroma coupleof
collaborationswithTheAvalanches
andexperimentalguitaristYonatan
Gat.“Isatina redleatherchairand
readbooksfora decade,”he
explains.“AndI triedtowritean
unusualautobiographythatI still
intend to finish.” For now, though,
thememoirwillhavetowait.
Bermanhasbrokenhisprolonged
exilebyreturningunderthebanner
ofPurpleMountains.
OutinJuly,theband’sself-titled
debut,onwhichBermanis joined
byWoodsduoJarvisTaveniereand
JeremyEarle,is drivenbythekind
ofstrange,troubledbeautythat
becameSilverJews’trademark,in
tandemwithBerman’sdrywitand
giftforpathos.“Whenmymother
died I picked up a guitarforthefirst
timeinsevenyears,”hesays.“I
wouldsitaroundherlittlehouseand
playopenchordsasa meditative
practice.I thinkI gotintoit because
thevibrationsofthewoodsoothed
mychest,whichis whereit hurt.Two
yearslaterI had 15 songletsonice.”
Oneofthem,thealmostunbearably
poignant“ILovedBeingMy
Mother’sSon”,paystributetohis
maternalinfluence.
OthersongsonPurpleMountains
suggestthatthepast 10 yearshaven’t
beenquiteassedentaryasBerman
claims.Theopeningtriplesalvoof
“That’sJustTheWayI Feel”,“AllMy
HappinessIs Gone”and“Darkness
AndCold”,forinstance,aredarkly
autobiographical.“Writingthem
helpedmegetthroughsomebad
fixes,”hereveals.“Ileftnashville
anddriftedout west for a year. I
experiencedwhatit wasliketolive
formonthsata timealoneinthe
Californiandesertandina skidrow
hotelonEastHastingsinVancouver.
Therewerethingshappening
aroundmeandbackhomethatI had
nouseforinmylife,butthatmade
goodmaterialforsonglyrics.”
BermanplanstotourtheStatesas
PurpleMountainsinAugustand
September,beforeheadingtothe
UKtowardstheendoftheyear.
Havingbeengonesolong,he’s
expectingpromoterstomake
smallerguaranteesthantheymight
doforSilverJews:“ButI thinkI can
rallyoncethealbum’soutand
peoplerealisethebandis gonnabe
prettyformidable.” ROBHUGHES
PurpleMountainsis released
by Drag City on July 12
theclassifieds
This month: Blues breakers,Melody Maker, june 24, 1967
Turning
Purple
Aftera decadein
themusicaland
geographical
wilderness,
Silverjews’david
Bermanreturnsas
Purple Mountains
dc berman
DavidBerman:
backwith
something
“pretty
formidable”
“Writingthese
songshelped
megetthrough
some bad fixes”
