Bright Flight

So freaking boring. And "Water don't give a damn" is the cheapest play on words I heard in a long time. It's not all bad though. After the second listen I enjoyed it more. Either way: 2/5 max.

Not my thing. It's my speed but don't care for this kinda "sitting in the tall grass" type country. It's like Kurt Vile wore a vest with an American flag on it.

Just no. 2* for track 1.

"Nett" im besten Sinne. Rauschte eher an mir vorbei und es blieb nur wenig hängen. Schönste Zeile: irgendwas mit explodierenden Sonnenbänken und reichen Frauen darin.

Great band name. Not so much a great album.

Are these lyrics translated from Japanese or something?

relatively chill album with an alright singer that's got some country twang to it.

I wasnt familiar with the band or album going in. A fushion of post-grunge garage rock with indie flavor- I appreciate what they were going for but I didnt really enjoy it. I can see how it was an influential album for early indie rock though (modest mouse, arcade fire) Overall- fine, but not for me

A studious avoidance of charisma.

Hahaha this one really feels like a product of recency bias in the early 2000s reviewers. Sort of similar to many other superior whispering mid western albums.

Opzich helemaal niet verkeerd, maar waarom is de zang bij dit soort platen altijd zo wack? Ik weet dat die kerel heel depressief van, maar door zijn stem ga ik bijna zelf knopen leggen...

The singer sounds bored

Like if the lumineers enlisted bob dylan to sing the country songs they tried to write with lyrics poorly imitating him. Bad even for 00s indie.

Sometimes I got lulled in by the music, other times I cringed. A bit boring overall.

I got quite bored, it was a miserable slog and I didn’t even finish it

A very, very faded and watered down copy of Lou Reed. The music was fine, the lyrics weren't anything to write home about.

A nice chill vibe… I think I could listen to a song or two on shuffle, a full album was a lot.

The ones with Malkmus are better and should have been here over this one

Err, I find the songwriting interesting but the delivery leaves me kind of cold.

Hard work

You know when you see a used couch, and think to yourself, "Hey that is kind of a nice couch", but then you look closer and realize it's got stains, and no matter how much scrubbing, it's basically trash. That's kind of how I feel about this album.

Lidt stille indierock, lidt meh, lidt country

Booooooooring

Not for me

dogshit yanks

Not even average.

Dylan without the lyrics, without the melodies - not much remaining.

Pretty melancholy. Songs really lacked melody. I didn't hate it, but certainly wouldn't listen again.

2 - Sounds like every other 2000's era indie rock artist.

Don't recall much about it

When your lead singer sounds like that you think you'd do a bit more to cover it up but w/e 2.5

eh couldn't really get into this either. 2/5

This is like lo fi indie country rock verging on noise rock. Complete with a singer who can't carry a tune in a bucket. The lyrics are simplistic and nonsensical. The singer, David Berman, gathered up a few members of the band Pavement to create this band. I've reviewed a few of Pavement's records on this generator, and really disliked those. I don't really know what the hell this is, but it's not great. There are fleeting glimpses of cohesion, but then the singer opens his mouth again... Favourite songs: I Remember Me, Friday Night Fever, Tennessee Least favourite songs: Time Will Break the World 2/5

Derivative 2000's indie rock unfortunately. There are far better examples of this genre, and perhaps this is not the album that is the one that's meant to showcase the band's abilities but its not very inspiring either. Nod to a bit of midwest emo in here. Country western themes too allow for a more emphatic and unique indie sounds.

I just kept waiting for something interesting to happen. It's musically not terrible, but it's not very interesting.

boring ass néné

Not terrible, but not particularly good either. “Transylvania Blues” was a welcome break from the dull vocals (both male and female vocals btw). Even some of the guitar riffs were questionable a variety of times. Some interesting mix of styles and some weird lyrics. I’ve heard worse, but I won’t venture into any of their other albums. 2 because it’s a bit samey with the vocals, singing style and lyrics.

Dude can't sing

Had too much of a country sound for me

More like beige Jews this is so bland, geezer can’t sing either

I was so happy when this ended and an REM song came on.

Not sure. Very light and soft. No grit

a kitten with from Great Britain sleeps behind the drapes an old silver bowl filled with apples and grapes. Highlights: I Remember Me The Font on the Cover of the Album death of an heir of sorrows I don't like it. but i really buy the premise that this inspired a lot of better music.

It wasn't awful but the music was just boring to me and so was his voice

This just sounds so generic. Nothing standing out from this one. I think some of the more “modern” albums just got here because either the author liked them or somehow the band paid him. No disrespect, I just don’t think this should’ve taken up a place from more influencial records

Pre: I've been meaning to listen to more Silver Jews as they are a band I have heard enough songs I've liked but I've typically bounced off each album I've listened to so far. I also did not realise until checking the background of this that Stephen Malkmus was a founding member! I can't remember how I first heard about Silver Jews but I know I started listening to them after the Courtney Barnett cover of We Could be Looking for the Same Thing. Post: I think one of my takeaways of this is that I'm not a huge fan of David Berman's vocals. My favourite moments are when either he is not singing or someone else is on vocals. Thinking about it this makes sense how my most listened to songs by them are either group vocals or through a cover. I was surprised how much of this I would say is country, I always placed them as mostly folk and indie rock. It seems to lean closer to country for the second half but sadly this is where it starts to leave my interest. Maybe I'll come back to this album for the first few songs but it's unlikely I'll want to revisit the latter half. Highlight: Slow Education

Not what I had expected going in. Never listened to them before.

while i'm glad that others found this a rewarding listen, to me it felt insipid and uninspired. sure would have been nice for the singer to actually, y'know, sing. these early aughts indie-albums-with-a-fill-in-the-blank-twist (in this case, country) are a dime a dozen so i'm not losing any sleep over this one failing to excite. the best song on here is transylvania blues, if only because it sounds nothing like the others favorites: i remember me, transylvania blues

Don’t get it, lo-if bad folk

Really had a hard time getting through this one with this singer's particular vocal and lyrical style. I don't like alt country enough to rescue it.

I messaged my friend who really likes this band "isn't life hard enough?" and received a response explaining that there's another, even more depressing and harder to listen to, album that's good but difficult. For me, life is already hard enough and the flat vocals are difficult in a different way.

Interesting but didn't really hold my interest - never a good sign when you hear a good one and go to check what it's called and realize it's actually Spotify shuffling similar artists after the albums finished lol

Pre-listening thoughts: no clue who or what this is gonna be Post/during listening thoughts: yo who is on lead vocals and is he half asleep singing? It sounds like he's bored of his own material. Lowkey this is how I feel about the lead singer of The National too. It's like indie music that seems to bore the band itself. Well, count me bored too. There is little distinction between songs. They all sound the same. 3/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Let's Not And Say We Did Least fav tracks: Time Will Break the World

Strange fusion between country and indie that just starts and remains flat all throughout. The dull vocals certainly didn't help. "Tennessee" can't be a real song either.

I’ve never heard of Silver Jews before, nor this album, so I have no idea of what to expect when I listen to this. I see the reviews for Bright Flight are… shall we say, less than favorable? Outside of this project, I don’t really have a lot of experience with indie rock from this era, and the things I’ve listened to so far have been pretty hit or miss with me, so I’m heading into this album with middle-of-the-road expectations. As I listened to Bright Flight, I waffled back and forth between not liking it and finding it okay. It took me a minute to get used to the vocals, but once I did, I was able to appreciate them more. The stripped-down arrangements were done well, but aside from a few songs, I didn’t find anything particularly interesting or enjoyable about this album. However, I thought the songwriting was pretty good, and there were some fairly clever lyrics. The line “Everybody's going down on themselves, No ‘pardon me's’ or ‘fare thee well’s’ in the end” was probably my favorite line on the whole album. “Transylvania Blue” was my favorite song on the album. I really enjoyed the moodiness and atmosphere to the sound, and it really stood out from the rest of the songs. “Let’s Not and Say We Did” stood out too; I enjoyed its upbeat tempo, the percussion, and the piano melody. Other than that, though, I really wasn’t into this album very much. I didn’t think Bright Flight was bad per se, but it’s definitely different than the type of music that I tend to gravitate towards, and it didn’t do enough to stand out.

Silver Jews - Bright Flight It's a country album and it sounds mostly alright at least. Personally, i'm not a huge country fan honestly, so some of them were just, a bit odd to listen... However, it does have it's good moments (especially Transylvania Blues, even though it's the only track he doesn't sing on it, it has a lot to offer sonically speaking). Overall however, this is decent. 1.- Slow Education = 8/10 2.- Room Games and Diamond Rain = 7/10 3.- Time Will Break The World = 6/10 4.- I Remember Me = 7/10 5.- Horseleg Swastikas = 7/10 6.- Transylvania Blues = 9/10 7.- Let's Not and Say We Did = 6/10 8.- Tennessee = 5/10 9.- Friday Night Fever = 6/10 10.- Death of an Heir of Sorrows = 7/10 FINAL SCORE: 6.8/10

Not too bothered

#462. About as interesting as an underseasoned and overcooked steak. 2/5: gray

Ik vind het eigenlijk niet zo heel mooi gezongen. De man is wat saai en de vrouw een beetje vals of zo. Melodie is ook niet heel bijzonder, maar ik kan het wel luisteren.

Dull.

Best: Transylvania Blues Worst: Tennessee Liked songs: 50% Mid to high 2 Shocker, but the more indie rock it gets the more I like it and the more country it gets i don't. Given the very limited country I've listened to though, it's some of the best.

Reminds me some of Bill Callahan, but I found this overly boring compared to thatm. The lyrics aren't inspired enough for me to get past the talk-singing that is offered here. It has some cool country influences, but ultimately is a stereotypical indie rock record.

Bright Flight is pretty miserable in sound and content, just morose bluegrass country stuff. Voice is alright (he thinks he's Johnny Cash at times) but the whole thing is just a bit too plodding and depressing for me to care about. Another 2.

This was not very Christmassy. Miserable man singing about miserable things miserably. Doesn't have a good enough voice to allow for it being that front and centre of the production, and doesn't have good enough lyrics to make you not really care about it. 2/5.

Sounded like country. Don’t like country.

Overall: 4/10 Honestly, what are you supposed to expect from a band called "Silver Jews". Well, country-tinged indie folk wouldn't have been my first guess but I'm not complaining! Or at least, I wasn't complaining at first. This is the kind of music that I tend to like in shorr bursts, but an entire album of the same nasally monotone voice gets really grating on the ears after a while. The music behind that voice is actually pretty great but one thing I'm realizing by doing this list is that vocals seem to be incredibly important to me when it comes to how much I enjoy an artist. Fav Song: Transylvania Blues Least Fav Song: Let's Not and Say We Did

hehe Jews... Oh fuck not sure if I can hang. The first words were "When god was young" Okay it wasn't religious. I'll keep listening. 2 sars.

I found this extremely boring and weary, except for "Transylvania Blues". Most of the album was too slow and plodding for me, and I really disliked the singer's voice. 1.5 rounded up

Put your back into it, mate. C'mon.

I think you had to be there. 2/5

2.5

His biggest drawback is he can't sing. Lyrically pretty good but why not listen to Nick Cave instead? I found it a bit tedious/flat/samey.

The best parts are when the guy isn’t singing, but even those are only ok.

Fine but a little boring

Can’t say that I enjoyed. It was pretty standard early 2000s alt that is not really my jam

Boring, depressing indie rock sung with almost indifference. I thought it was satirical at first given the singer's bored inflection and sarcastic lyrics. Music wasn't bad i suppose, just nothing catchy enough to bring me back.

I really liked the music, and the lead singer has a great speaking voice, but he doesn't sing with it. Or rather, he doesn't know how to as an attempt is made. This could have been really good.

Laid back low-key indie. Nothing exciting here really

If someone got into my car while this was playing, I'd be a little embarrassed.

Bronze star for the silver news

Tää meni tällaiseen yleisindieosastoon mulla. Vähän tyhjäksi imetty laari tämä. 2/5

Tanning beds explode with rich women inside …

At first I really hated this and wondered why it was included on the list. Then I started to hate it less. Still, I won’t listen again.

5/10 Do not like the vocals

Feels artsy for the sake of being artsy.

This isn’t a bad album but it’s not for me. I just found it boring mostly. I figured I was almost done with it when I looked and saw I was only on the third song. So for a relatively short album I was done with it about three songs in.

Kind of a clonky album that had me immediately thinking about Pavement. Oh funny, I read the bio as I was writing this review and I guess this band is strongly tied with two members to Pavement. So that made a lot more sense. I don't particularly like the weird "low-fi" sound particularly of the vocals in Pavement and now this band. I really don't find the lyrics profound or even interesting. Is it supposed to be ironic? Melodic? Really falls quite flat though it's not the worst!

David Berman might not be very good at coming up with band names. Or writing lyrics. Or singing. Ok, occasionally he comes up with a gem of a lyric. But those gems are hard to uncover wading through muck like “you’re the only Ten-I-see.” He’s a poet, don’t you know it? Is it satire? Tongue-in-cheek? Is the intention for me to laugh out loud? “Transylvania Blues” has a great sound, though. Probably helped that it was an instrumental.

I like the lo fi sound but does anyone else feel like it was a hallmark of this time in indie folk that male lead singers be kind of crappy vocalists? Also the lyrics leave something to be desired although they did make me laugh out loud. Several songs were very stream of consciousness meets elementary school poetry where things have to rhyme but not make sense (Time Will Break the World was the funniest to me containing gems such as "A kitten from Great Britain" and "tanning beds explode with rich women inside").

It’s difficult to think of a more unexciting voice. Get a new singer or use autotune. Anything to mask the boring.

The tracks Tennessee and Friday Night Fever just about elevate this to a two-star album for me. The singing in general is dreadful, and I feel that this album would best be on a list called 1001 albums to listen to that will make you want to die.

Ok

Some interesting storytelling and lyrics in a very mellow music bed.

Never heard of Silver Jews, and after listening I'm not surprised. While entertaining it's not Top 1001 material, not even Top 2002. Intro tune sounds like a Cracker demo cut and the following songs were all stuck in first gear with no compelling reason to listen to them all the way through. The best song was the instrumental "Transylvania Blues". The other tracks have too many words, not enough music or melody. "Boring" is the word that first comes to mind. I tried. No hits, not influential from what I can tell, weak vocals, no real hooks to draw you in, overall it's a better than average album. There is NO way this album is on ANY other Top 1001 list ever made. I think this was added by mistake or the lead singer is the one assembling this list.

buhhhhhhh

Wannabe Pavement

Meh

Hadn’t heard of this band before. I somewhat enjoyed the music, but a lot of the lyrics were a bit weird for me. And the singer’s voice may be an acquired taste, but wasn’t my cup of tea. Onto the next one.

First listen. Ok.

No lo conocía y no me he perdido nada. Indi, folkie, aburrido. Dos estrellas por pena y reservar los de 1 estrella para los discos malos.

I will never understand albums/bands like this that seem to think music is a joke or something. The singer doesn't seem to care about any of it so he just maybe purposefully "sings" in the most low effort shitty way. If you don't care about your music, why should I?

Pretty unenjoyable, I didn't like the off-key singing. Low 2.

3/10 - "My horses legs look like four brown shotguns" is quite a lyric. Why does this guy hate horse legs? His singing is pretty bad. I did not like any of the songs to be honest.

Feels a lot like pavement. As with other slacker rock, I’m a big fan of the general vibe, but I really could do without the style of signing on this. Right between a 3 and a 4

His voice bored me. Was that purposeful?

This one didn't land well with me. Not very good.

This album was a little bit strange to me. I guess it's indie rock, but the vocals were almost like spoken word so I didn't care for it very much. I would not seek this one out again.

couple decent songs but mostly whack

Dreary vocals and only half-interesting songwriting. Quite the drag.

Some of the music isn't bad, but the singing is rough at best. 2/5

Early 2000s indie rock, but not bad. However, I have to ask, why is this here?

Don't like,,,, molt pla

oh dear, that's not a pretty voice - couldn't make it past the first 6 tracks

This album was so bland and uninteresting that I didn't even notice when it ended and Spotify started auto-playing other artists

What occurred to me while listening to this album is it is something I might find in a remainder bin. If I had even a vague recollection of the group I might pick it up, listen to it once, and file it away. With respect to the performers that wanted to have their voices heard, this should not be on anyone's list of albums to hear before they die.

I quite like a good, sad album. You can really descend into a quiet, contemplative mood and let the music take you. This sad-sack approach on the other hand is really boring and irritating. His voice is so droney and half-arsed. It sounds like he's chronically depressed, and singing all the songs while sunk deep into the sofa (presumably the one on the cover). He's dragged me down to his level and left me feeling a lot worse for it. Thanks for that mate.

Not my music

Hade det inte varit för Transylvania Blues och den otroligt feta lyriken skulle detta album fått en 1. Tråkiga vocals och tråkigt instrumentalt. Låtarna var liknande och han sjunger så jävla monotont. Verkligen inte min stil. Däremot var lyriken otrolig!! bästa lines var: ”Marry me and leave Kentucky, come to Tennesse. CAUSE YOUR THE ONLY TEN I SEE”. Eller annan lyrik som ”The snow falls down so beautiful and stupid. For the black silhouette of Abraham Lincoln trees. The sky’s low and grey like a Japanese table. And my horse’s legs look like four brown shotguns”. Världens bästa ordkonstnär efter Einar.

älskade INTE hans röst - ändå unik😬 Hur kan det låta som varenda rad han sjunger är den första sången som nånsin lämnat hans mun/som han gissar hur varje ord ska uttalas😁 MEN annars var så många grejer bra!! Ibland var texten så så fin typ death of an heir of sorrows (ibland var den dock så inte fin typ tennesse söööög) Men nästan 4/5 om man bytt ut sångaren. För mig bara gifte sig det inte med så smygande instrumental och så anklagande sång damn trippy 😰 Bästa låt: i remember me och horseleg swastikas (vad är detta för titel🤪)

Väldigt monotont album, men ändå helt okej Bästa låt: Horseleg swastikas

It was aight. I liked the voice and singing style. The lyrics per unique and personal, but didn't really resonate with me that much.

Talk singing not my thing but very pretty

I hate this. I don't even know why. The music is pretty at times. The lyrics are often clever. Singing is serviceable. But I can't find anything I personally like here. 2/10

Very Nick Cagey this, and crossed with a lot of country based tunes this was never going to be my favourite. Didn't mind the singing, it reminded of something I can't quite place but was very indie in a can't quite sing kind of way. One playthrough was okay but I wouldn't come back, 1.5.

The first half wasn't too bad but the second half gets too slow and boring. It's a good thing this is a short album because his singing voice would have annoyed me more otherwise. Highlights: Slow Education I Remember Me

Suppose on paper I should quite like this, but it didn't do much for me. However, it's got that pessimism and misery that I often enjoy. The guy hasn't got a great voice, which somehow is fitting, but it bothered me. He also really reminded me of another act and I can't put my finger on it.... Maybe magnetic fields? 2.5

fine. not for me.

The good news. Transylvania Blues is a good song. The bad news. The rest of the album is extremely mediocre. Lesson to bands. Make one good song into a collection of good songs in order to have a great album. Simple.

Jaa miten voikaan musiikki kuulostaa näin paljon tuolta levyn kannelta. Meni vähän liikaa puhelauluksi ja vitseiksi minusta, mutta lisääntyvä countryn määrä ilahdutti.

Levyn kantrifioituminen (eli paraneminen) kohti loppua sai minut sen verran optimistiseksi, että laitoin sen uudelleen alusta soimaan. Mmh, ei alku kauheasti innostavammalta kuulostanut (ehkä vähän). On kiva, että Lou Reed rohkaisee teknisesti kyseenalaisia laulajia esittämään biisejä, mutta olisi toivottavaa kuulostaa hieman paremmalla tavalla huonolta kuin tämän bändin solisti. 2,5

Bad vocals.

Nice instrumental, don’t like the vocals

Monotonous and uninspiring.

I find it really funny that a band named Silver Jews has a song called Horseleg Swastikas

Not a bad album, per se. It’s just a massive amount of boring and has not much going for it. I actually don’t mind the songer’s voice, I just don’t find the music very interesting.

Lyrics are pretty interesting, I feel like this would be an acquired taste with more listens as the vocals are not very immediate

Another album that doesn't seem to belong to the list for any reason other than the author presumably likes it. Instrumentally it's fine. A pleasant mix between indie rock and country. But it falls down with the vocals in my opinion.

Not the best mood setter for a Monday morning when motivation is already fairly low. Musically it’s not too bad, and at times if I really tried, I could pretend it was a bit like a poor man’s Pearl Jam, but ultimately I was just struggling to get through it and was glad it was only a 10-track, 35 minute record.

2 stars, weird.

Usually like this kind of music but found this quite boring, sorry.

Country mellow

It's fine, I think it's another album where I'd be significantly more into it if there wasn't singing. If you were feeling down and were into country vibes this might be the ticket, but outside of that I can't imagine liking this much. I will say, I enjoyed Transylvania Blues, but when it came on at first I thought the album had finished and Spotify had just started playing something else, because it didn't sound like something that belonged on the album. When the good song instantly makes you think you've left the album, I think that tells you something about its quality.

Can't really be more indie than this. The lyrics feel a bit simple and the singer songs like he's bored

It was ok

Plutôt moche. Trop d'artistes sur la scène indie essayent trop de faire le même effet de non-chanteur de Cohen et plus souvent qu'autrement ce n'est pas intéressant. Cet album en est un exemple. Les instrumentations ne sont pas mauvaises, mais ne viennent pas se démarquer en comparaison à ses contemporains. Très oubliable. 3/10

Didn't like the singer's voice.

While I'm sure there's a dedicated audience for this style of music, I am not in their ranks. While not as bad as Radiohead, it's close.

While I know this is probably a selling point for a lot of fans of Silver Jews' music, frontman David Berman's voice grated on me for a lot of this listen. I did enjoy the opener, "Slow Education," and "I Remember Me" - the latter hits differently knowing Berman completed suicide later in life. And the twangy melodies throughout Bright Flight aren't bad, per se. In fact, the instrumental track "Transylvania Blues" was probably my favorite out of this collection given it was vocal-less and had a different sound than the others. This album as a whole just wasn't my bag, and I'm not exactly sure why it's on the list as a "must listen before you die." Even after reading the editor's blurb in the book, I don't have a solid understanding of what makes THIS particular album worthy of inclusion. (This always annoys me when I finish reading the book blurb on a 1,001 Albums album). I looked up "best of Silver Jews" articles via Google and the three articles didn't have many songs from this collection. I suppose Berman's poetry set to music is more image-ridden than other indie rock works out there and I respect that. But I don't think I'll be revisiting Bright Flight. Interesting Factoids from Wikipedia: *"Walnut Falcons" was tossed around as a potential band name before "Silver Jews" was chosen. Berman, who was Jewish, said that the name came from a billboard he saw reading "Silver Jewelry" and later revealed that the name was actually intended to be a pseudonym for a conceptual art piece but instead evolved into the actual band. Standout Tracks: Slow Education, I Remember Me, Transylvania Blues, Tennessee

The singer is awful. It reminds me bit of Tim Blake Nelson in "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs." But that at least had some moments. This just feels like a band that is trying to put together something, but not sure what. Why again was this put on the list? I feel like some of the songs could be done well by a band with a decent singer, maybe an alt country band. At least it's short. Next.

I don't know about this. It almost sounds like a Pavement knockoff, except that their frontman (Stephen Malkmus) had already left Silver Jews by the time this album was produced and he wasn't the main singer/songwriter anyway. That's David Berman's job and he does pen unique lyrics. But at times it's just smart man nonsense - like if he puts two cryptic or quirky sentences side by side that makes for clever writing. I found it a bit tiresome. Ditto his voice and the musical arrangements. It's the same monotone delivery attached to the same metronome-like alt-country timing on almost every song. I know Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits have flawed vocals, but they can compose songs in a variety of distinct ways and they do attempt different vocal stylings - and pull it off from time to time. Transylvania Blues was different - both stylistically and for its absence of vocals - and Let's Not But Say We Did was more uptempo. But the rest felt monotonous. And not good.

Talk about irritating vocals! The actual music was at least good.

Didn't enjoy.

We should have left this music back in 1965. Even moreso when the singer sounds like he has zero interest in what he's doing. The vocals are so devoid of life and personality, so much that the album's best song is Transylvania Blues, which is an instrumental. Any bit of music with an oomph is overshadowed by this guy's dull voice. His songwriting is interesting at times, but then you get distracted by a dumb lyric like "you're the only ten-ah-see" which is of course, a line in the song Tennessee. Jesus Christ

…….what just happened?

vocalist sounded like the guy from Cake. Nothing spectacular

“Can’t get past the flatness of the singers voice” ~Liz Phair, probably

Monotone and forgettable

Standard apathetic indie fare

This style of music is just ok to me. I think some other bands did it better - but good background music.

I had never heard of this band, which is exactly why I'm here on this site - to listen to and learn about artists that I'm not familiar with. Musically I found the indie/country/whatever-you-wanna-call-it vibe of this album very well done & interesting. The lyrics had some bright spots as well, but I really, really struggled with Berman's vocals. I actually think a second listen would shine more light into some solid songwriting as Berman seems to be very well regarded in that field, but as it is, this is probably not something I'll ever listen to again. That being said, I don't feel like the last 35 minutes were a waste of time either.

Didn't click with me

vind het wel een beetje saai, denk echt aan 2 sterren ofs

Feels like country meets The Velvet Underground meets Presidents of the USA. While I like those two bands, and while this is a sweet album, I found the strong country aspect too offputting and I couldn’t get past it. Listens: Fave Track: Transylvania Blues Rating: 2

Mest gnöl och gnäll.

Its very much in the "Its alright" category

Het zit niet mee deze week, wat is dit voor een saai album ook? Helemaal omdat ik deze meteen na Tim Buckley luister pakt dit me totaaaaaaaal niet. Het is niet 1 ster, want dat is voor mij echt een slecht/dramatisch album, maar het is gewoon zo niets zeggend. Kunnen we alsjeblieft weer wat sterkere albums krijgen?? Ok laat maar, in Let's not say and we did lukt het ze om het toch compleet te verpesten. Dan pakt ie het toch een beetje terug in Tennessee cause "You're the only ten I see" god wat ben ik soms toch makkelijk te vermaken. Ook op Tennessee zingt een vrouw mee, die qua stem een stuk beter is dan de zanger op alle andere nummers, mag ze alsjeblieft wat vaker meedoen?

Tuneless vocalists often work for me, but not in this case! Dreary

Nope really didn’t get this album. Or why it made the list.

Kind of boring to be honest...

Country/Dylan wannabe with a Barenaked Ladies vibe. Weird.

While I liked the voice of the singer, all songs similarly blended together into one long blur of sound. It was gentle to listen to but nothing stood out.

There's some great lyrics in there, but overall he and the music both sound bored of themselves. I'd potentially like it if I listened to it more, but I'm just not going to.

A drunk-sounding man rambling "I'm 14 and this is deep" lyrics, and the whole thing sounds vaguely discordant. The Tennessee/"ten I see" pun was physically painful to hear.

Uninteresting to me 2/5

Bad country music. Dull vocals, dull instrumentation. Stand-out: Let's Not and Say We Did

Trying to be open minded, but this seems like ironic overrated lo-fi indie rock that someone chose just to mess with people. Is this hipster rock? At first I thought Berman's vocal delivery was a choice but now I am certain this vocal delivery is the result of someone who is too high to perform well. I was not impressed with the lyrics, so I was surprised to learn after listening to the album that David Berman was considered a lyrical genius. Really? If I were Robert Dimery I would swap this album out for a Hank Williams Sr album. Particularly perplexing since Robert Dimery wrote a book about the final days of the lives of 100 musicians with Bruno Macdonald that book included Hank Williams.

This album is conflicting for me. There were parts that I liked and flashed potential. And then there were parts that were boring, annoying, and confusing. I generally don't consider lyricism when rating, but the lyrics were also so bipolar that I had to comment on it. There are some very good lyrics on here. "I want to be like water if I can because water doesn't give a damn" is damn clever. But for every line like that, there's a headscratcher like "We're off to the land of hot middle-aged women" or this so-bad-I-had-to-laugh line: "The sky is low and gray like a Japanese table and my horse's legs look like four brown shotguns." Highlights: the parts of Time Will Break The World that didn't make me laugh, and the last minute of Transylvania Blues goes hard

Het heeft wel wat, het is lekker rustig - maar toch irriteert mij iets. Combinatie van die stem en die teksten misschien. Op de 1 of andere manier zorgt die stem ervoor dat ik me niet kan identificeren met de zanger en me dus ook niet goed in de teksten kan verplaatsen - zoiets.

Nimestä pisteet, mutta itse musiikki aika laahustavaa settiä.

Ok, vähän tylsä

Can't understand how this made the list when there are so many that didn't Okay but doubt I'll listen again

did nothing for me.

Underwhelmed. Very derivative, and not even in a good way. There's plenty of stuff out there that is unoriginal but at least is exciting and fun to listen to. This is derivative and boring. I'll give it two stars because the musicianship isn't bad.

I’ve listened to a few Silver Jews songs. None of these really stood out immediately but it might be worth another listen.

1.5/5

This is, without a doubt, one of the best Country albums I’ve ever listened to. It’s awful. But it’s still one of the best.

Urge Overkill meets the Eels with a dash of the Crash Test Dummies, which isn't something any of us were asking for since it's a mixture of chemicals that don't exactly taste great together.

I started off not liking this at all and then warmed to it slightly and then fell mostly off again. Dudes' monotone is annoying.

Dull!

Bit too depressing for me, I have instantly forgot about this album.

Nicht so meins, obwohl eigtl mein genre.

Irgendwie komisch. In den ersten Sekunden hat mich die Stimme ganz leicht an eine Mischung aus Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan erinnert. Aber mit diesen Größen möcht ich das wirklich nur sehr ungern vergleichen. Je genauer man hin hört, von Song zu Song, wird die Stimme nur schwer erträglich. Außerdem sind die Texte auch eher seicht. 3.1/10

Uninspiring...

Indie but country-like in the guitars. Vocals remind me of the whole "sound out of tune" vibe of early aughts indie. I enjoy the instrumentals but not the vocals on this one. I just don't enjoy the spoken word/not-even-trying-to-be-in-tune singing. Like what is even the start of Time will break the world? 2* for the instrumentals. Transylvania blues was a cool track, much harder guitars and no crappy vocals.

How on earth did this guy get a record deal with zero ability to sing? This album is mercifully short, and I was already at the end of my patience when it did end. Towards the end, it started reminding me of a very bare bones, shitty version of Pete Yorn's musicforthemorningafter album. It's interesting they were both released in 2001. Pretty sure wayyyy more people are still listening to musicforthemorningafter than this. I ended up listening to that album after this, as a much-needed palate cleanser.

Listened to this while playing Aeon's End with my partner against Hollow Crown...we lost twice. I had a friend from Burning Man who was really into Silver Jews, but I couldn't really get into it then. Years later and listening to this now, I enjoyed it more than I did back then...but it is still a tough sell for me. I want to give this a 2.5, but I'm to round down to a 2. There were moments I really enjoyed. I loved the upbeat number in the backhalf of the album...but his voice takes getting used to. There were parts that reminded of The Hold Steady...another band that has a lead singer with vocals that "grow on you"...and even similar subject matter...but I would much rather listen to THS over this. I did enjoy the word play on a few of the songs though.

If the mood strikes I guess

Lyrically I guess kinda interesting, vocally annoying and dull

Alright but lyric heavy, feels like reviewing after one listen is inadequate but what do you do. An alternative band doing a country album, not as good as a country band doing country music but probably better than a country band doing an alternative album.

This guy needs to get his horse's legs looked at by a vet. Their sound drones a bit too.

Like Andy Schauf but sadder somehow

Well fuck, this is the definition of indie dirge. What a dull album.

What!?

Not my style, did not dig it at all

normally i like indie rock but this is just really boring there are some good parts but most of it is ehhh

1. Tennessee 2. I Remember Me 3. Rooms Games and Diamond Rain

I forgot to rate this. A few days later and I can't even remember what it sounded like

Propah borin'

Its a solid ok album.

Rough listen. Song composition and lyrics were decent, but singer's voice was painful.

I wouldn't describe this album as a great listening experience. It would have been a 3 if the album didn't sound like one song that droned on for far too long.

trash

This was a modern folksy record that didn’t seem to be that important. Add it to the list of how is this album on here. The style was a more poppy Tom waits without the raspiness. The instrumentals were simple and mostly boring. Overall this album is decent sound but it’s not a good album to listen to. 4.6/10

This was followed on you tube by Jonny Cash and Warren Zevons. All I can say is that is how to do it properly, keep practicing and in 20 years you may get there.

Interesting alternative country sound. Certainly ain't Dolly Parton! Even though I don't normally do Country, I quite liked it. Best tracks; Slow Education, Transylvania Blues and Tennesse. A middle of the road 2.

didn't rly do much for me. i enjoyed the album art and the emo sentiments tho

It was honestly so forgettable that I forgot to rate it after listening to it last week. But it wasn't BAD bad. Just landfill indie for me.

Ok….

I did really “Let’s Not and Say We Did.”

Na

This is probably on the list because it's the most mediocre record ever. I can't think of any other reason. It's not good, it's not bad, it's right in the middle. Generic alt. country. In one ear, out the other. Favorite song: Transylvanian Blues.

"Transylvania Blues" is by far the best song. More of this and less of the Tesco value Johnny Cash. The 1st half of the album has a sound I really enjoy but is so intensely boring The 2nd half of the album gets a bit more interesting and fun but just doesn't sound that great.

I yawned a lot.

Whiney bullshit

this tickled that early 2000s alt country nerve a bit. Reminding me of Old 97s etc though not as good. Thinking about that ‘across the Atlantic culture ping-pong’ I wonder if this was an Americana ping that didn’t receive a proper British pong… Like maybe this is the Britain/Europe music press’ idea of an important example of the Alt Country/Nouveau Americana movement. Whereas I would instead point to Whiskeytown, Old 97s, Jayhawks, Drive-by Truckers, Jason Isbell, …. I dig the instrumental sections- kind of country but kind of chill stoner rock… the lyrics/vocals really let this record down hard though. Someone in my listening group noted: “I think ppl were big on Pavement because of the popular weirdness to their music, still somewhat accessible. Then the Brits heard this shittier country version of the same thing and thought it must be more important.” FWIW I actually truly love this Alt Country genre- those 3 Whiskeytown records are some of my fave music ever. Still

take a handful of boredom, add a pinch of an ugly male voice, and some sad guitar in the background - that's the recipe for the album.

I would like to rate it higher because music is nice but vocals sometimes ruin effect. I get idea of flat, unemotional voice but this time it does not fit.

I have to admit today, I didn't make it past the second song. This guy cannot sing. The instrumentation was nice, but the voice was cringeworthy.

Not my favorite. Its like tired Beck that forgot the coffee.

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Transylvania Blues (6) 2 - Friday Night Fever (9) 3 - I Remember Me (4)

This group has some pedigree, having roots in Pavement, and they sound like a cross of Kurt Vile and Wilco. The material is pretty good, but as some have mentioned, Dave Berman's hang dog voice can become tiresome. If only he had Kurt Vile's voice instead. Tennessee is probably my favourite song because his wife Cassie Berman has a brief stint at vocals to break up the tedium.

This album imo was very boring with questionable titles and lyrics. I thought the songs were unoriginal and boring in general. It was the same acoustic guitar with simple instrument playing and vocals were very boring . I wouldn't come back to this album

This was honestly just pretty boring and bland, and it felt like they were trying to make it that way on purpose. All the music was very lo-fi and low energy, and the vocals were monotonous and effortless (not effortless in a good way). All of it has a slight lazy, kicked back country "flavor" to it, which I don't really felt like did the music any favors in this case. This album felt like drinking something and not necessarily finding it unpleasant, but finding it incredibly flavorless and unquenching. It just didn't seem to have any life in it. I truly have no idea why this album would be included in this project. But I guess I'm rounding it up to a 2.

Silver Snooze

annoying vocals, ok instrumentals, bad mix, iaaots

While not really a bad album (on the boring side though), this is the epitome of the album I wish we had less of on this list. I can't see why it would be particularly relevant, it is not well-known and doesn't teach me anything. It's simply an American indie rock album - that's all (and it's not enough).

I really don’t know

Why would anyone listen to this on purpose? Some of the lyrics were decent but ultimately not worth it.

Nah. There's some cool slacker/shoegaze sure, but this is a bit boring.

Country-infused folk rock by someone who sounds like Bill Callahan (of Smog) or Matt Berninger (of The National), only unredeemable in his rustic vocals. He collaborates with two members of Pavement, and you can hear that in cool songs like "Time Will Break the World" and "Let's Not and Say We Did", but it's never as cool as the atonal nature of Pavement, leaving much to be desired. Funnily enough, my favorite track is the one without any vocals, "Transylvania Blues." I think his lyrics suck, and the vocals don't even feel like he's trying to fit the music half the time.

This was a pleasant way to ease into the working morning. It didn't really deserve any more of my attention though. The vocals sounded too slow and laid back for my liking. It felt a little too retro for retro sake.

This country stuff is not for me

Got halfway through, wasn't in the right mood. Sounded dreary. Like a poor man's pavement.

Dylan he ain't.

Best: Slow Education Worst: Let's Not and Say We Did

This album would surely win SNL’s old game show skit, “who’s more grizzled.” It certainly aged me while listening to it and, dammit, I want to still be young. I know someone is going to call me shallow or say I’m being unfair — maybe I am — but I don’t have time nor desire to do a deeper study of “death of an heir of sorrows”. It’s not for me, not now at least.

David Berman's voice is not for me. I thought I could get past it like I can with Kurt Vile, cuz I appreciate a lot about these songs. Hearing the female vocal suit Tennessee so much better just blew out the contrast. The vibe is solid and the lyrics have depth and humor, the sound is familiar because it's Pavement, who I like. Berman just cannot sustain a note, and his tone doesn't compensate enough for the experience not to feel consistently grating to my ear. I honestly wish I could get past it cuz I feel like there's worthwhile stuff here. Transylvania Blues felt like an oasis in the desert. Unfortunately, it's overshadowed by other faults, namely what I feel is a critical lack of momentum or real differentiation between the rest of the songs in the first half of the album. I guess I can appreciate that you need Silver Jews before you can have the National but this is not one I'll be returning to. 2 feels fair for me. "Goodbye users and suckers and steady bad luckers"

A fine album that has no place being on this list. What is essential about this? Why should this be on here and not Drake, lil Wayne, future, most Grateful Dead albums, etc. the pedal steel was nice when used. And good band name.

Sad boring American music, sounding very dated twenty years later.

Another Lo-if record that just didn’t click for me. Tennessee was fun but none of it was exactly memorable

This is one of those just "why?" albums for me. I don't dislike it, but I don't think it is a must hear. It's just mediocre and boring even for a guy that likes chill indie rock music. The vocals just don't do it for me either, his voice is just too "Tom Waitsy" for me. I don't like it and I don't hate it. I just don't think it belongs on the list. It isn't bad enough to earn a 1 but a 2 star is about where I'm feeling.

It kinda sucks at times but I didn’t hate it enough to give a 1/5. Sounds like what Leonard Cohen would have written if he were born in Ohio in the late 70s. Favorite was Transylvania blues, because it sounded cool and also because there was no singing

It was fine... feels like someone's pet project that they forced onto the list. Forgettable.

This is pretty painful. Country flavored indie is one of my least favorite musical subgenres, particularly when it's more cerebral than soulful.

Wow, it's been a long time since I have heard a more reprehensible voice. This was my equivalent of sharp nails against the chalkboard sound. Every note that came out of the main vocalist was slowly burning down my neurons, until there was nothing left. Fittingly, at the end of the album, I started to like a song, "Friday Night Fever", possibly because my senses were already gone at the time. I'm not a fan of country and country indie rock , or whatever that was, didn't really fall far from the tree. I am actually quite impressed I sit through the whole record. Okay, no reason to bash this anymore than necessary, from the positive note, I have found even worse albums on this list, and some songs were actually listenable. It's something between one and two stars, but I really don't think it is worthy one, so... here you go!

Tylsää ja vähän jopa ärsyttävää country rockia. Levyllä kuitenkin yksi hyvä instrumentaali kappale

It sounds a lot like what it is, I guess. Namely, a joke that they started to take seriously. Consequently, it's a bit of a mess. But it's not altogether unenjoyable for all that. In fact, though there were points where I wanted to hate the album, I found myself just apathetic to it instead. I guess it could be worse but it sure as hell could have been better.

boring but ok instrumentals and insufferable whiny vocals 1.5/5

Alt country needs the best lyrics or vocals in the world to earn a pass and these are just ok.

Quintessential American Flyover State music, but it’s nothing to write home about.

I suppose the lyrics deserve some mention but for me Transylvania Blues was the best track, and it was an instrumental. All in all, this album was 35 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

Wow, I was really sick of this guy by the end of the album. Musically and lyrically, I quite like it, but his voice and singing style ruin it for me. When the female vocal popped up on "Tenessee" it gave me such relief. At that point I just kind of accepted that this isn't my cup of tea.

Like flying into the twin towers

meh

Fucking hell, this guys voice and pitch are terrible. Had to stop midway through. Can't finish this one. Some okayish indie vibes on the first 3 tracks but can't listen to this.

Al zit er hier en daar een geniale lyric in, de muziek is maar zozo

Don’t much like the country influences or the singer’s voice. Lyrics are good though

Interesting, but definitely not for me. I do really appreciate the lo-fi "slice of life", soothing quality of this record but I don't love the vocals and the way the lyrics constantly go from good to cheesy real quick. My favorite track was the instrumental "Transylvania Blues" which was a nice change of pace.

Quirky lyrics, but the music didn’t interest me

While listening to this all I could think "There better be some Flying Burrito Brothers or New Riders" in the 1001.

Oof, do not like. Reasonably adequate country-backed songs, some clever lyrics, but the voice... I understand that the Silver Jews were originally intended to be deliberately bad, but I can't tell whether this singing is ironically bad or just plain bad. It is passionless, lifeless, tuneless and without flavour. Did not enjoy.

Lyrics we're interesting but music was boring/basic. Almost spoken word on some tracks.

Ok. So the music is entirely uninspired, the "singing" is just a dude mumbling and never quite hitting maybe 3 notes. But the backstory of the frontman and his life are tragic and fascinating. But I'm not rating his life. Just this album. And it's bollocks. (He won't be reading this, or any, review.)

This somehow sounds bored and drunk at the same time, like an overtired child just making noise with its mouth because it doesn't want to go to sleep.

This 35 minute album achieved something I thought impossible, feeling what entering the event horizon of a black hole was like without leaving earth. Time slowed down, a lot. It felt like over an hour of boredom. So many things to dislike. Lyrics that I'm sure were meant to be profound missed the mark. Cliched twang of a country guitar, and that droning voice. No thanks.

Pretty boring, didn't really like the vocals.

Struggled with this one but a few bright moments

Frustrating. There are so many elements to this that I should love, but it just doesn't really work for me at all. I love a good alt-country album and this just isn't it. Friday Night Fever is pretty good but it came far too late to save this album or make me want to re-listen. I'd give it a 1.5 if I could.

Another boring questionable choice for this list

Kinda like Leonard cohen but without the emotional impact

the fact that two of the guys on this album were also in pavement isnt surprising, but i feel like this lacked something pavement had. didnt enjoy it

Weird, country rock, with bad lyrics

Pretty meh

Not my kind of music but I didn’t hate it. That Transylvania has more teeth at least for a while. Boring

Needs a second listen but I didn't find it that accessible on the first listen

I read a piece describing the Silver Jews as being ‘ramshackle’, and that’s exactly how ‘Bright Flight’ sounds. That and bleak. Founder and main man David Berman’s songs and lyrics are the aural equivalent of defeat. From what I’ve read it sounds like he had a tortured life, and that experience often informs the tone of this record. YMMV, but I don’t see myself revisiting this any time soon.

I'm not a vocals snob at all, but there's something about the lofi, low effort vocals here that are not doing it for me. Sometimes I find this kind of thing really charming and genuine. But in this case, it's just not doing it.

Le di varias vueltas y no me agarró. La voz me terminó hastiando y su lírica no me gustó. Tenía buen potencial pero no lo logró.

Me aburro. No le encontré nada interesante o memorable a este disco, ni razones para estar en la lista. Suena a indie con contry sin mayor detalle especial, salvo lo depresivo del tipo (que lo llevó al suicidio en 2019 según leí) pero eso no es mérito alguno… En fin, solo llega a la segunda estrella porque aunque no llamó la atención en dos vueltas, tampoco fue algo que me sonara fatal.

Kolejne indyjskie rokowanie z hameryki, nowosc wedlug lastfma, ale nowosc nie nowosc, bo polowa skladu to czlonkowie pavementa, ktory rozpadl sie w 99, ale liderem jest zupelnie inny pan, ktory poprowadzil indyjskosc w kierunku smutnych piosenek, mowa o panu Bermanie, ktory jest odpowiedzialny na teksty i wokale wiekszosci utworow, dodatkowo brzdaka na gitarce, pewnie na tym akustyku, bo plyta stara sie laczyc brzmienia akustyczne z elektrycznymi, banda podczas nagran liczyla siedem osob, wiec brzmienie ma zalozona teksture i potrafi zaczynac sie minimalistycznie zeby dodawac kolejne instrumenty jak w miare progresuje utwor, wiec pod tym wzgledem jest w miare roznorodnie, ale wokalnie i lirycznie calosc brzmi nijako, wiekszosc jak typowe smutne indyjskie kawalki na ktorych pan Berman razem ze swoja pania Berman wylewa z siebie smutki bialego czleka artystycznie obdazonego wrazliwoscia na otaczajacy swiat, bywaja takze kompozycje bardziej pavementowe, ktore jakos przypominaja ten humorek i energie lofikowa przemycana przez bande, dobrym przykladem bedzie tutaj lets not and say we did, ale takie piosenki sa w mniejszosci na tym srednio dlugim, bo 35 minutowym krazku, na plejke dodam jedynie zamkyjacego death of the heir of sorrows, ktory przypadl mi do gustu za pianinkowe wstawki i najlepsza prezentacje energii typu braku energii, ktora dominuje cale nagranie i dopiero na ostatnim traku wychodzi w pelnej krasie

Interesting. Not my favorite, but certainly has a place amongst bands like Cowboy Junkies.

The name and cover art do not inspire me to listen. But this my album today so listen I will. First song, slow education, lyrically strong start in that the first verse makes me want to hear the second verse. But it never really gets going. Some of the turns of phrase are nice but they feel thrown together instead of building to a greater narrative. Let's Not and Say We Did almost won me over. But in the end I can't say the album is more than "fine".

Hate the vocals. 4/10

Nope

Ok, some hipster cunt (I assume fairly safely) trying to be Bob Dylan. Problem is, the original Bob Dylan is fucking horrendous - why would anyone then want an imitation? This shit just makes me cringe. Stop pretending your lyrics are deep. Stop pretending your whiny hipster folk shit "poetry" has anything to do with country. And learn to hold a note ffs. You're an embarrassment. 2/5 - should be a 1 but it only pissed me off for half an hour.

ok, but a bit boring and with no rhyme

favs: transylvania blues rating 0.5/5

Челік шось хрипить під акустику 35 хвилин. Тіпа кантрі

Lo-fi trash. Not my thing. 1.5/5

Just a lifeless album.