Purple Mountains
{{short description|American indie rock band}}
{{For|similar names|Purple Mountain (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Purple Mountains
| image =
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| origin = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| genre =
| years_active = 2019
| label = Drag City
| associated_acts = {{hlist|Silver Jews|Woods|Noah Count|Mark Nevers}}
| website = {{URL|www.dragcity.com/artists/purple-mountains}}
| past_members = David Berman
}}
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. The album was recorded primarily in Chicago and produced by Jarvis Taveniere and Jeremy Earl of the band Woods.{{Cite web |url=https://americansongwriter.com/2019/07/purple-mountains-any-way-you-hear-it/ |title=Purple Mountains: Any Way You Hear It |last=Rutledge |first=Chris |date=July 10, 2019 |website=American Songwriter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710154954/https://americansongwriter.com/2019/07/purple-mountains-any-way-you-hear-it/ |archive-date=July 10, 2019 |access-date=July 11, 2019}}
The project's name is derived from "Purple mountains majesty", a common mondegreen of the lyric "Purple mountain majesties" from "America the Beautiful". Nashville Scene
Background
Berman returned to music in 2018, co-producing Yonatan Gat's second studio album Universalists.{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/yonatan-gat-universalists-review-2570056228.html|title=Yonatan Gat Universalists Review on PopMatters|website=Popmatters.com|date=23 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/global-beat-yonatan-gat/|title=Yonatan Gat Interview for Relix|website=Relix.com|date=14 August 2018}} On December 12, 2018, former Pavement and Silver Jews member Bob Nastanovich 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2026033/silver-jews-david-berman-to-launch-new-band-in-2019-says-bob-nastanovich/news/|title=Silver Jews' David Berman To Launch New Band In 2019, Says Bob Nastanovich|website=Stereogum|date=December 12, 2018}} His blog was also titled Menthol Mountains at times.{{Cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/2019/05/david-berman-of-silver-jews-returns-with-new-project-purple-mountains/|title=David Berman of Silver Jews Returns with New Project Purple Mountains|website=American Songwriter|date=May 10, 2019}}
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, 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.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/silver-jews-david-berman-returns-with-first-new-music-in-11-years/|title=Silver Jews' David Berman Returns With First New Music in 11 Years|website=Pitchfork.com|date=10 May 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Purple-Mountains-All-My-Happiness-Is-Gone/release/13613935|title=Purple Mountains - All My Happiness Is Gone|website=Discogs|date=10 May 2019 }} The single was released digitally on May 17, 2019, with the announcement of a full-length album and a planned North American tour. The eponymous debut album was released on July 12, 2019.{{cite web |last1=Minsker |first1=Evan |title=Silver Jews' David Berman Announces First New Album in 11 Years, Shares Song: Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/silver-jews-david-berman-announces-first-new-album-in-11-years-shares-song-listen/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=May 21, 2019 |date=May 17, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/silver-jews-david-berman-to-release-new-album-in-2019-says-bob-nastanovich/|title=Silver Jews' David Berman to Release New Album in 2019 says Bob Nastanovich - Pitchfork|date=12 December 2018|website=Pitchfork}} "Darkness and Cold" was released as the album's second single on June 11, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2019/06/david-berman-purple-mountains-darkness-and-cold/|title=Hear "Darkness and Cold," a New Song From David Berman's Purple Mountains|website=Spin|date=June 11, 2019}} "Margaritas at the Mall" was released as the album's third and final single on June 28, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2019/06/purple-mountains-margaritas-at-the-mall/|title=Purple Mountains – "Margaritas at the Mall"|website=Spin|date=June 28, 2019}}
A remix of "All My Happiness Is Gone" by Australian electronic music group the Avalanches, who Berman has collaborated with in the past, was commissioned by him, but a licensing issue prevented their version from being released.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2050767/the-avalanches-remix-purple-mountains-single/news/|title=The Avalanches' Remix Of New Purple Mountains Single Held Up By Licensing Issue|website=Stereogum|date=July 10, 2019}}
Berman died by suicide on August 7, 2019, less than a month after the album's release.
Discography
=Studio albums=
- Purple Mountains (2019)
=Singles=
- "All My Happiness Is Gone" (2019){{Cite web|url=https://www.dragcity.com/products/all-my-happiness-is-gone|title=Purple Mountains - "All My Happiness is Gone" | Drag City|website=Dragcity.com}}
- "Darkness and Cold" (2019)
- "Margaritas at the Mall" (2019)