Sinister: the JEWS (no BS)

[Sebastian]

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. Malkmus’s ‘other’ band.

Whether he’s 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, Berman’s lyrics are down right fascinating. 

“Windex tears flow down the robot’s face, he’d never felt a mother’s 
embrace,” says Berman. 
“My momma named me after a king, I’m gonna bury my name in you.” 
Much like Malkmus’s 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 Pavement’s 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 don’t be fooled by the monotonous nature of Berman’s 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. “You’re 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.
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