Purple Mountains

Stunningly beautiful in conception and execution David Berman's last music project is a perfect record of ten intimate songs both heartbreaking and humorous. Forgoing the Silver Jews moniker for Purple Mountains Berman has made something that moves beyond the basic functionality of an album into a place that is sacred for both the creator and the listener, providing a sort of exorcism for both in delineating his extremely personal struggles. Born from depression and tragedy Berman bleeds his pain onto his canvas leaving behind a self-portrait of a man with a great deal of wit, insight and cleverness. His death is an unavoidable component to the record much like David Bowie's death is intertwined in his last album Blackstar. The two are inseparable for better or for worse. Its occasionally profoundly sad to know how Berman would pass away and listen to Purple Mountains but it can be strangely therapeutic to hear his poetry which unfolds in layers like a really bright flower in the rain, sparkling with droplets holding what little light shows through the storm clouds overhead. I marvel at how meticulous each layer is built within each of the ten songs, the writing so dense with metaphor and mirrors that I refer to the lyric sheet that comes with the cd on a regular basis just to appreciate the complexity of Berman's pen. The songs are lived in and live in a listener with the capacity for as long as they need to, maybe forever and Berman captures this sentiment from the perspective of the songwriter in Snow Falling in Manhattan, my personal favorite. It's such a gorgeous realization three quarters of the way through the track that it has repeatedly elicited tears and goosebumps. I can't recall a song that has such a brilliant meta effect. But each track has a moment of wonder that grows depending on how and where you look at it. Darkness and Cold also has a lot of fun with lyrics despite being about a miserable situation. One has to appreciate dark comedy to enjoy some of Purple Mountains but the music itself often is upbeat and contrasts with the melancholy nicely like sweet and sour. Each melody is manifested by Berman with a skilled capacity for sophisticated indie pop flavor that stand out and gets stuck in your head. Although most of the songs have a duality of humor and sadness there are a couple full-on tearjerkers such as All My Happiness is gone which glitters with profound thoughts and imagery of someone on the brink and the crushing I Loved Being my Mother's Son, a tender ode to Berman's dearly departed mother. Overall the album is breathtaking and at ten songs, each one perfectly created, there isn't a soft spot or filler. It's my personal favorite album of 2019. I am grateful to David Berman for building these "little rooms in time" before he left this world.

The music underlying "All My Happiness is Gone" seems to intentionally recall "Love Will Tear Us Apart". And since Berman is a better writer than Ian Curtis, I end up loving this song more. What makes the album superior to "American Water" and his other, must-hear classics is that every song is a gem, and worth re-hearing multiple times. Perhaps there is nothing as completely catchy as "Random Rules" here, but the lyrics seem rawer, and the throwaway lines don't exist. "Darkness and Cold", a song mostly about a love's affair, does brilliant things with the "light of my life" metaphor, with the words definitely elevating the chorus. I can see lovers of vocals not being super fans of David Berman but when fellow musicians John Darnielle and Stephen Malkmus put his songwriting on a higher level than their own, it's far from mere talk. Lou Reed occasionally reached similar literary heights ("Harry's Circumcision", or his tribute to Delmore Schwartz), but Reed wrote with far more affectation, most of the time; Berman always stayed true. I still would put Randy Newman at the top -- check out "I Want You to Hurt Like I Do", "Miss You", "My Life is Good" -- but how many writers make you go back to the works of his creative writing teacher (James Tate) after listening to his stuff? Anyway, "Purple Mountains" is brilliant. The accompanying videos on Youtube seem to add nothing to the music, btw.

I was late to the David Berman party and only started listening to Silver Jews and Purple Mountains in the last two months after hearing about Berman's death in August. As they say: better late than never. I've listened to all the Silver Jews albums and there's some really great songs on each of them. Berman's latest band and eponymous album title Purple Mountains is a posthumous masterpiece. I wish could have seen (and heard) Berman and his new band live. Every song on the album is good. My favorites are: "All My Happiness Is Gone," "Darkness and Cold," "Nights That Won't Happen," and "Storyline Fever." And with winter nearly upon us, I'm sure I'll be listening to " Snow is Falling in Manhattan."

This is one of my favorite albums of 2019. The songwriting is top notch, evoking feelings of loneliness and disillusionment, both musically and lyrically. I can't get enough of the tracks "All My Happiness is Gone" and "Margaritas at the Mall". David Berman was a genius at the top of his game with this album. The sound qualify of this pressing is excellent.

Initial listens suggest that this is as good as anything that Berman has ever done (take that with all of the intended gravitas). The lyrics are potent and deeply affective (as you'd expect), and the song structures are interesting, listenable, and satisfying. A great record from a great artist; hopefully a harbinger of more music and poetry from Berman.

What a wonderful album. Another reviewer I feel said it best. "Deeply Sad but extremely Funny" The song structures and production are perfect. I first read a review and an interview with David Berman in July in an issue of Uncut. I was glad he was back making music after 10 years and got the album. Sad that he passed away in early August. I feel this may be his best. Not a bad track on the album.

The most depressing album I’ve ever heard, I loved it!

David Berman.... ein toller Musiker! Purple Mountains ein tolles Album! Leider sein Letztes. Es steht mir nicht zu, über seinen Tod zu urteilen. Leider finden manche Menschen keinen anderen Weg!

Poignant ,lovely and sad in retrospect . A musical magpie that owned it . Hard to believe there will be no more music there . .. purple mountains is superb .

David Berman que j'ai connu avec le groupe Silver Jews nous offre un cadeau formidable un disque absolument somptueux !! Une pépite !! Toutes les émotions passent dans ses chansons qui nous récitent la vie avec ces joies et ces peines ! Ce doux poète,ce merveilleux troubadour a l'humour décalé et bien souvent caustique aujourd'hui malheureusement disparu nous laisse en héritage ce splendide album que je recommande à tous ! Il devrait satisfaire tous les Fans de Neil Youg ou de Léonard Cohen !! PASCAL de SAINT-LO Il devrait

Grande disco!una miscela di country-indie rock,non conoscevo David Berman e il dispiacere aumenta visto che ci ha lasciato un mese dopo l’uscita del disco😢

Gran disco, letras brillantes pero que dejan ver la oscuridad en la que se encontraba ,parecía que ya le rondaba su trágico final. Las melodías son grandiosas , para mí, un disco perfecto