Silver Jews “Secret Knowledge of Back Roads”
Most bands do not come out of the “material collected during the 19XX-19XX period” exercise smelling like roses. Unless you are Brian Wilson and someone crushed masterpiece, there probably is a reason the songs were not released. The thing that the Silver Jews have going for them is that often you could barely tell if the songs they released were actually finished or not, so this sub-sub-sub genre of releases actually somehow doesn’t feel as exploitative when put in the context of David Berman’s magnificently irreverent band of alt-rock pranksters. You be the judge from the material below. In my humble opinion, the slapstick promo video reels me in, but the track “Secret Knowledge of Back Roads” feels a little too worn and ramshackle even for this group. The best news? If you decide to get the album from Drag City, it is part of their new cassette series, so you can at least pick it up in the format that was most popular when these songs were pressed to tape. Buy it HERE
