''Tanglewood Numbers'' is the fifth studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from Hoboken, New Jersey, formed in 1989 by David Berman (musician), David Berman alongside Pavement (band), Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band me ...

, released in 2005. Like on all of their other albums, Silver Jews' principal song writer and constant band member is David Berman. On this album fourteen other musicians are involved in the performance and creation. ''Tanglewood Numbers'' marked the return of Pavement members

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Joseph Malkmus ( ; born May 30, 1966) is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Pavement, The ...

and

Bob Nastanovich Robert Nastanovich (born August 27, 1967) is an American musician and member of the indie rock band Pavement (band), Pavement, as well as a former member of Silver Jews, Ectoslavia, Pale Horse Riders, and Misshapen Lodge. Early life and educa ...

into Silver Jews. Malkmus had last appeared on '' American Water'' while Nastanovich had last appeared on the band's debut album '' Starlite Walker''. Cassie Berman, David Berman's then wife, also appears, as does

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

.Berman Untangles New Silver Jews Album
''Billboard.com''. Retrieved 19 June 2011 The album's cover is a photograph by famed Southern photographer

William Eggleston William Eggleston, (born July 27, 1939) is an American photographer. He is widely credited with increasing recognition of color photography as a legitimate artistic medium. Eggleston's books include ''William Eggleston's Guide'' (1976) and ''The ...

.Lisle, Andria
William Eggleston: King of the Album Cover Photo

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2011

Background

In the four years between '' Bright Flight'' and ''Tanglewood Numbers'', Silver Jews frontman David Berman had suffered from substance abuse, depression and a suicide attempt. However, Berman was able to rehabilitate and he became more deeply involved into his Jewish faith.Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles article: "Silver Jews Singer Polishes Up Dirty Past"
/ref> During its recording, ''Tanglewood Numbers'' was nearly destroyed in a fire that burned down Memphis' historic Easley-McCain studio, where the album was going to be mastered.Phares, Heather
Silver Jews - Biography

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved 19 June 2011

Reception

''Tanglewood Numbers'' has received mostly positive reviews. According to

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the album has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 32 critics reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim."Tanglewood Numbers Reviews

. Retrieved 19 June 2011 Giving the album a 4.5 out of 5 stars, Heather Phares of

, in references to Berman's past problem, wrote "Hopefully the circumstances around ''Tanglewood Numbers'' will never repeat themselves, but there's no denying that this is a uniquely powerful and moving set of songs."

Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

' Josh Berquist also gave the album a positive review, writing "Even if it’s not their finest work, it certainly feels like it is. There is a visceral vitality to ''Tanglewood Numbers'' that has never inhabited any album prior." In a more mixed review, Dusted Reviews' Nathan Hogan criticized Berman's less prominent vocals, writing "...Berman’s a brilliant lyricist with 30 or 40 minutes to spare every couple of years, and his voice seems oddly absent from this record." However, Hogan concluded his review with "In the end, disliking ''Tanglewood Numbers'' leaves me feeling a bit like one of the schlubs who groused about Dylan going electric... I suppose it’s possible this record’s a grower. For the time being, that’s the best there is to say about it."Dusted Reviews: Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers
Dusted Reviews. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2011 The Times Union called the record "OK."

Track listing

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Tanglewood Numbers'':Tanglewood Numbers - Credits

. Retrieved 19 June 2011.

Silver Jews

* David Berman * Brian Kotzur * Mike Fellows *

* Cassie Berman * Tony Crow *

Paz Lenchantin Paz Lenchantin (born December 12, 1973) is an Argentine-American musician. She is best known for having been the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of the alternative rock band Pixies (band), Pixies, playing with the band and recording three stu ...

Azita Youssefi Azita Youssefi (; born January 18, 1971, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an Iranian-American experimental musician, artist and music teacher based in Chicago. She was originally associated with the Chicago no wave scene, which included bands such as t ...

* Bobby Bare, Jr. *

Duane Denison Duane Denison (born January 21, 1959) is an American guitarist best known for work with the punk rock band The Jesus Lizard. He is also a founding member of super-group Tomahawk. Biography Denison began his musical career by studying classica ...

* Pete Cummings * William Tyler * John St. West

Recording personnel

* Joe Funderburk - Mixing * David Henry - Vocal Engineer * Mark Nevers - Engineer * Roger Seibel - Mastering

Additional personnel

* Alexander Graham Bell - Drawing *

- Photography * Gerônimo - Drawing *

Jessica Jackson Hutchins Jessica Jackson Hutchins (born 1971) is an American artist from Chicago, Illinois who is based in Portland, Oregon. Her practice consists of large scale ceramics, multi-media installations, assemblage, and paintings all of which utilize found obj ...

- Drawing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2005 albums Silver Jews albums Drag City (record label) albums