SILVER JEWS - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea LP

Although Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, was the final album by Silver Jews, and one of their least regarded works, it reaches out and warms the heart, from David Berman’s rich voice sounding for all the world like an alt-rock Johnny Cash, to the countryish vibe, Caroline Berman’s spot on backing vocals, to the regular flashes of songwriting brilliance.

“Strange Victory, Strange Defeat”, may be one of the best songs we’ve heard in years, but when you actually analyse the lyrics, they make no sense at all. On the opposite end of the scale is closer “We Could Be Looking for the Same Thing”, which is a brilliantly honest ballad.

One of the most satisfying things about Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea is its vibe. For all of the richness of Berman’s vocals, there’s a definite sense of fun about proceedings, with regular excursions through narrative songwriting, featuring a lovely rounded production sound with a reassuring weight, without it ever sounding over-wrought.