here's a silver jews review from my college paper... did your "in a sloppy category of their own?" mean you liked pavement, or not? if ya do: (american water is a masterpiece - no joke, far far better than their other efforts.) curious... In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection, begins American Water, the third album from St. Malkmuss other band. Whether hes whimsically ranting about tan lines on ring fingers, about how he is the joke his mother played on the world, or the speed of an IV drip, Bermans lyrics are down right fascinating. Windex tears flow down the robots face, hed never felt a mothers embrace, says Berman. My momma named me after a king, Im gonna bury my name in you. Much like Malkmuss Pavement, its hard to quite pinpoint what exactly the Jews are going on about, and how much of it they exactly mean. With the follow-up to Pavements acclaimed Brighten the Corners scheduled for release no earlier than March 1999, American Water is a splendid fill-in. Initial listens do little to suggest that American Water is anything beyond the uneven, spoken-word offerings of Starlite Walker. But dont be fooled by the monotonous nature of Bermans voice,this album is laced with subtleties. For the most part, the Jews again stick to their lo-fi, slack-rock credo, though Malkmus manages to wail on the instrumental Night Society and on the quirky, up-and-down Blue Arrangements. Honk If Your Lonely is a western-ish cheese-hoot. As if its title wasnt strange enough, Like like the the the Death asks: Do you believe in MGM endings? and rambles about air crickets, dead hookers, grass rabbits, and killing animals. I see you swimming with the country club women in the Greenwood southside society pool, goes Blue Arrangements. I love your amethyst eyes, and your protestant thighs. Youre a shimmering socialite jewel. Simple, sometimes snail-paced arrangements, make American Water, with its obtuse and enchanting word-play and references to just about everything peculiar, the type of album you listen to on your own. Driving down a long stretch of highway, perhaps. With the Silver Jews, much like their brothers Pavement, random rules. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+