Silver Jews: David Berman (vocals, guitar); William Tyler (pedal steel guitar); Tony Crow (electric guitar); Phil Niehaus (piano); Tim Barnes (percussion). Recorded at HVM Oepot, Berry Hill, Tennesse. When the Silver Jews first appeared in the mid-'90s, the band's singer-songwriter David Berman was backed by some of his pals from Pavement, whose sound helped define the sonic parameters of the first couple of Silver Jews releases. In short order, though, the group weaned itself of Pavement connections both aural and physical, and developed its own sound, which seems to reach an apex on BRIGHT FLIGHT. While Berman and company have been moving in a vaguely country-rock direction for a while, this album probably the contains the largest quotient of country influence, as heard most plainly on the classic Nashville-mode male/female duet Tennessee and the disfigured honky-tonk of Friday Night Fever. While he's keeping busy turning his band into the New Riders of the Purple Sage, though, real-life poet Berman's lyrics are sharper than ever, encompassing everything from death and time to alcohol and an admiration for Royal Trux.