Silver Jews

The Silver Jews were renowned for their poetic, literate, alternative rock. The band was mainly the vehicle of David Berman, the band's sole constant member, but guitarist Stephen Malkmus also had success with the band Pavement. The Silver Jews emerged from the scene around the Chicago label Drag City in the early 1990s. Initially they consisted of David Berman with Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich and had evolved as three friends playing together after work. In 1993 they released their debut EP, 'The Arizona Sessions', followed by the album 'Starlite Walker' in 1994. With the other two members busy with Pavement duties, Berman used the band to release his own songs on 'The Natural Bridge' (1996), a lyrically dense album that earned comparisons with Bob Dylan. The 1998 album 'American Water' was again critically-acclaimed and included in the Guardian newspaper's series '1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die'. Berman also published a book of poetry, 'Actual Air' in 1999. The country-influenced album 'Bright Flight' followed in 2001. Berman suffered with drug abuse problems and depression during this period, but he made a comeback in 2005 with 'Tanglewood Numbers'. In 2008 the Silver Jews released their final album 'Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea' before Berman announced in 2009 that he was retiring the band. He also revealed that he was the son of Richard Berman, a well-known lawyer and lobbyist. Berman died on 7th August 2019, aged 52.

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