This first (and unfortunately last) record by Silver Jews leader, David Berman, has made many a “best albums of 2019” list but to be honest, I never gave it a chance.

I can sometimes be unreasonably brutal with records if they don’t capture me within the first 2 minutes and this was the response when listening to this record about this time last year. I remember being in a Melbourne record shop and seeing this in the “New Releases” section. I used Tidal to have a quick listen, and despite some great reviews it wasn’t enough to convince me to purchase it.

Visiting Smithies today at “The Family Jewels” and in great need of a vinyl fix, the time was now right to throw caution to the wind and drop a needle on the grooves of this record.

After two solid listens, this is proving to be an absolute revelation. It is simply astounding.

David Berman passed away a month after the release of this record.

• Pitchforck.com - Review