Bright Flight

For the Missouri scholarship program, see Bright Flight (Missouri scholarship).
Bright Flight
Studio album by
Silver Jews
ReleasedNovember 20, 2001
RecordedHum Depot, Berry Hill, TN
GenreIndie rock
Length35:18
LabelDrag City[1]
Domino Recording Company[2]
ProducerMark Nevers[3]
Silver Jews chronology
American Water
(1998) 		Bright Flight
(2001) 		Tanglewood Numbers
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Drowned in Sound6/10[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Pitchfork Media8.5/10[7]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Stylus MagazineB[3]

Bright Flight is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Silver Jews, released in 2001.[5][9]

"Tennessee" was chosen as the title track for an EP that also included "Long Long Gone", "I'm Gonna Love The Hell Out of You", and "Turn Your Guns Around".

Critical reception

The Guardian wrote: "Fusing gorgeous, tear-sodden country melodies with lyrics that inspire love and anxiety in equal measure, Bright Flight poetically captures a drunken night spent contemplating suicide while staring at the Nashville skyline."[10] The Stranger wrote that "the stories told and the places visited are rich with radiant imagery--not always happy, but encouraging in their pure, honest existence."[11] Trouser Press wrote that the album "is not, on the whole, as agreeably encompassing as American Water, it is the work of an artist increasingly able to get to the emotional heart of a song without relying on the crutches of irony and overt cleverness."[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Berman, except "Friday Night Fever", written by Blake Mevis, Dean Dillon and Frank Dycus

No.TitleLength
1."Slow Education"3:07
2."Room Games and Diamond Rain"4:34
3."Time Will Break the World"3:17
4."I Remember Me"5:32
5."Horseleg Swastikas"3:20
6."Transylvania Blues"3:03
7."Let's Not and Say We Did"2:59
8."Tennessee"4:10
9."Friday Night Fever"2:44
10."Death of an Heir of Sorrows"2:35
Total length:35:18

Personnel

Musicians

  • David Berman - lead vocals, guitar
  • Cassie Berman - vocals on "Slow Education", "Let's Not and Say We Did", and "Tennessee", bass
  • William Tyler - guitar, vocals on "Let's Not and Say We Did"
  • Mike Fellows - bass
  • Tim Barnes - drums, percussion
  • Paul Niehaus - pedal steel guitar
  • Tony Crow - piano, organ, electric piano, synthesizer, vocals on "Let's Not and Say We Did" and "Friday Night Fever"

Additional Personnel

  • Hilary Small - artwork
  • Mark Nevers - engineer, producer
  • Mike Fellows - assistant producer

References

  1. ^ "Silver Jews - Bright Flight | Drag City". www.dragcity.com.
  2. ^ "Silver Jews - Bright Flight (CD) | Domino Mart". Domino Recording Company.
  3. ^ a b "Silver Jews - Bright Flight - Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com.
  4. ^ "Bright Flight - Silver Jews | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  5. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. pp. 456–457.
  6. ^ "Album Review: Silver Jews - Bright Flight". DrownedInSound. Archived from the original on 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  7. ^ "Silver Jews: Bright Flight". Pitchfork.
  8. ^ The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 735.
  9. ^ "Silver Jews". www.furious.com.
  10. ^ Aizlewood, Reviews by John; Mulholland, Garry; Simpson, Dave; Sullivan, Caroline; Lynskey, Dorian; Clarke, Betty; Wyse, Pascal (February 22, 2002). "Mississippi belter". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  11. ^ Wilson, Kathleen. "The Gift of Travel". The Stranger.
  12. ^ "Silver Jews". Trouser Press. Retrieved 10 January 2021.