Silver Jews’ astute lyricism invades Jack Rabbits

Bloomsday is a holiday celebrated annually June 16 in Dublin in honor of illustrious Irish writer James Joyce.  With this in consideration, it seems only fitting for the always-eloquent Silver Jews’ latest album, “Look Out Mountain, Look Out Sea” (or LOM LOS!), to have been released that same day this past summer.

The band’s line-up is a slippery revolving door from album to album with David Berman, the principle writer and singer, remaining the only constant member since the band’s formation nearly 20 years ago.

The musicians responsible for “LOM LOS!” are Peyton Pinkerton and William  Tyler on guitar, Tony Crow handling keys, Brim  Kotzur behind the drums, and David’s wife, Cassie Berman  on bass. And of course, Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus occasionally is part of the band’s roster.

The Silver Jews, named  after  a  partially obstructed billboard advertising silver jewelry, are often mentioned among the indie-rock elite, incorporating David’s masterful command and floral construction of the English language with instrumental twangs that sometimes taste like hibiscus-infused bourbon.

“LOM  LOS!” unfolds with one of David’s lonelier cowboy presentations on “What Is Not But Could Be if.”  It swims around recounting a futile obsession with lines like “and failure’s got you in its grasp/ and you’re reaching for your very last.”

The next track, “Aloysius, Bluegrass Drummer,” catapults out saloon piano and borrows a line from Emily Dickinson’s “Poem 28” that completes the ruffling black petticoat vibe.

“Candy Jail” gets the sweet-tooth-afflicted as well as the usual crowd of thesaurus enthusiasts salivating whilst painting the picture of a penitentiary that really doesn’t sound so bad.

Holding the album’s eponymous line, “My Pillow Is The Threshold” explores turmoil during an REM sleep cycle reflecting lost love and accurately defining the blanket draping the majority of the album.

For a band churning out such a solid six-album discography, it’s surprising the show Sept. 14 at Jack Rabbits was the Silver Jews’ 87th, not 287th show ever, not to mention its first performance in Florida.

“Dallas” initiated the surf-and-spurs-saturated set.  David and Cassie’s glinting wedding bands are only rivaled by the tangible adoration strung between their eyeballs.

Next up was a tale of a woebegone and forgotten corner-stereo, “Suffering Jukebox.”  It’s hard not to fixate on the artfully crafted grammar of David’s lyrics until the interlocking melancholy guitar work of Pinkerton and Tyler proves unavoidable.

Traces of Lou Reed-esque story-time struck mid-set with “San Francisco BC,” also from the new album.  The red lights along the rafters cast a brothel-like sheen atop the band as Pinkerton nodded his head so hard, the cherry of his cigarette nearly fell out.

The song went on to relay a tale soaked in irony concerning an ex-girlfriend and a domestic heist accented by a brilliant but simple drum backbone.

Four songs after David mimicked the international “I’m sleepy” pantomime of palms touching to provide a makeshift pillow for his tour-weary head, “Punks in the Beerlight” wound down the set.

Jesting guitars faded out as David blew kisses into the crowd and the Jews exited.

The sound guy piped in some good PBR-swigging stereo sounds and the crowd thinned a little, but that wasn’t all that was in store for the evening.

Remaining fans stressed their voice boxes in determination for one final song.

Not to disappoint, the band took its place back on stage and launched into “Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed.”

The audience was certainly in tune with the performance before, but the response for this one was tremendous.

People broke out into crowd-wide high-fives like they were giving signs of peace during a Catholic mass.

This time the song’s end was signaled by house lights being raised.

If the elevated spirits robed in blue tinged literacy trickling from Jack Rabbits mediocre insides signal anything, this won’t be the last time the Silver Jews make a point to pit stop in the Sunshine State.

E-mail Beca Grimm at features@unfspinnaker.com.