Purple Mountains was an American indie rock project formed by musician and poet David Berman. The project debuted in May 2019, over a decade after the dissolution of Berman's previous group

Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by David Berman alongside Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band member. During the last few albums, Cassie Berman ...

. An eponymous album was released in July 2019. The album was recorded primarily in

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and produced by Jarvis Taveniere and Jeremy Earl of the band Woods. The project's name is a

mondegreen A mondegreen () is a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning. Mondegreens are most often created by a person listening to a poem or a song; the listener, being unable to hear a lyric clearly, substitutes w ...

of the lyric "Purple mountain majesties" from "

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never m ...

". ''

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

'''s Sean L. Maloney described it as "striking, heavy and maybe a little foreboding, yet it implies a majesty that is completely missing from the often-self-deprecating Silver Jews". The project was presumably dissolved upon Berman's death on August 7, 2019.

Background

Berman returned to music in 2018, co-producing

Yonatan Gat Yonatan Gat is an Israeli producer, guitarist, and composer based in New York City. His cross-genre work has been called "a vital new music form" by a "legendary live performer" by ''Magnet'' magazine, "melding punk, improvisation, world music ...

's second studio album ''

Universalists Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept that some ideas have universal application or applicability. A belief in one fundamental truth is another important tenet in universalism. The living truth is seen as more far-reaching th ...

''. On December 12, 2018, former Pavement and

member

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

revealed on his podcast ''Three Songs'' that David Berman would release new music in 2019 under the name Purple Mountains, which was also the name of Berman's blog. His blog was also titled Menthol Mountains at times. On May 10, 2019, Berman released his first music in over a decade, a single entitled "All My Happiness Is Gone" on vinyl by Drag City, using the moniker Purple Mountains. The single included two remixes of the song, "All My Happiness Is Wrong" by Noah Count and "All My Happiness Is Long" by Mark Nevers featuring clipped recordings of

Dave Cloud David Bliss Cloud (August 3, 1956 – February 18, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, storyteller and occasional actor. Cloud was known foremost for his amusing earthy concert performances and garage rock recordings with his b ...

, and also indicated that a full-length album was a "couple months away." It also credited Berman, Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere of Woods, Aaron Neveu and songwriter Anna St. Louis. The single was released digitally on May 17, 2019, with the announcement of a full-length album. The eponymous debut album, accompanied by a US tour, was released on July 12, 2019. "Darkness and Cold" was released as the album's second single on June 11, 2019. "Margaritas at the Mall" was released as the album's third and final single on June 28, 2019. A remix of "All My Happiness Is Gone" by Australian electronic music group

the Avalanches The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They are known for their studio albums ''Since I Left You'' (2000), ''Wildflower'' (2016), and '' We Will Always Love You'' (2020), as well as their live and ...

, who Berman has collaborated with in the past, was commissioned by him, but a licensing issue prevented their version from being released. Berman died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

on August 7, 2019.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Purple Mountains Purple Mountains was an American indie rock project formed by musician and poet David Berman. The project debuted in May 2019, over a decade after the dissolution of Berman's previous group Silver Jews. An eponymous album was released in July ...

'' (2019)

Singles

* "All My Happiness Is Gone" (2019) * "Darkness and Cold" (2019) * "Margaritas at the Mall" (2019)

References

{{Authority control 2019 establishments in Illinois Musical groups established in 2019 Musical groups from Chicago Indie rock musical groups from Illinois Drag City (record label) artists