Silver Jews was David Berman's indie rock vehicle, formed in 1989 with early help from Pavement's Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. American Water (1998) is the peak — Berman's deadpan baritone and poet's eye at full power. He died in 2019, months after his final record as Purple Mountains. Explore Silver Jews vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Silver Jews formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1989 around David Berman (born January 4, 1967, Williamsburg, Virginia), Stephen Malkmus, and Bob Nastanovich. Malkmus and Nastanovich became members of the foundational indie rock band Pavement, while Berman developed Silver Jews as his primary project. The lineup rotated with guest contributions from various Drag City Records-affiliated musicians, with Berman as the constant member. Their 1998 album American Water - recorded with Stephen Malkmus contributing - is widely cited as their creative peak and one of the most important indie rock albums of the late 1990s. Their influence on contemporary indie folk and indie rock has been. The band dissolved in 2009 amid Berman personal struggles. Berman launched the new project Purple Mountains in early 2019 with the self-titled album Purple Mountains (Drag City). He committed suicide on August 7, 2019 at age 52 in his Brooklyn apartment, with public mourning in the American indie rock community. His poetic lyrical content and confessional songwriting has been recognized as one of the most important contributions to contemporary indie rock. He was also recognized as a poet (1999 collection Actual Air, Open City Books).
Silver Jews's sound combines indie rock, indie folk, alt-country, lo-fi indie, slowcore, alternative rock, and singer-songwriter with Berman's distinctive baritone vocal delivery (use of intimate, deadpan phrasing), integration of country, folk, and Americana influences, and lyrical content addressing existential, literary, and confessional themes drawing on American poetic traditions.
Drag City Records pressings of the Silver Jews catalog are foundational items in indie rock collecting.
Listeners new to Silver Jews typically start with American Water (1998) or Bright Flight (2001).
