Dust Congress Records Presents...

If you're not a regular reader of Dust Congress you're missing out on a veritable smorgasborg of good stuff from Poetry to music to political musings to photography and a bevy of quality links. Not long ago Dust Congress entered into the record business starting up a label, Dust Congress Records. Well, I have in my hands the current result of their labors SJBB3P: Part 2. I'm not sure what number one entailed but I think I have a good idea of the genesis of the idea. Mr. Dust Congress is a huge Silver Jews fan and to that end spends a good deal of time on the Silver Jews bulletin board (SJBB, get it). It seems that the frequent contributors over there are a fairly talented bunch musically, they're in bands and they write songs and if you ever wondered how much of an influence David Berman could be on a generation of songwriters this particular compilation hints at the answer. The 10 songs by ten different bands on SJBB3P: Part 2 have Berman's paw marks all over them. Whether it's the slightly atonal vocal stylings, semi-country jangle, or the boy/girl harmonies that strongly resemble Berman and wife a la Tanglewood Numbers, the common thread here is Silver Jews. Of course, that's probably the point given the source and inspiration of the compilation. And while I feel the similarities in tone need to be mentioned (there are times when the disc feels like a songwriters 101 project: write a song in the style of...), it shouldn't denigrate the quality of the songs which range from OK to pretty fucking brilliant and as often as not rise high enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with their source material.

Hit up the contact on Dust Congress if you're interested in getting a copy of this compilation.

I give you my 2 favorite songs from SJBB3P: Part 2:

Lady Lay Down - Holla Copter

Is Not A Cowboy - Rising Shotgun