Jurado

Sometime last year my wife and I visited friends in Seattle. I made a (very) quick stop at an independent record shop called Easy Street Records in the Queen Anne district. In an effort to not leave my wife stranded in the car for hours, which I could have easily done, I motored over to the 'Used' section and began rifling through things. I was a a man on a mission and I suppose I had a few things on my mind that I was on the lookout for, but generally speaking I was just looking for a diamond in the rough... and I was looking quickly!

Somehow I started in the middle of the section and the first heading I saw was 'J'. So, I started flipping through looking for June of '44, the first band to come to mind. After many bad albums by bad bands, I came across a visually inviting and colorful record by Damien Jurado. I didn't know his stuff well, but had heard one song on KEXP and really dug it. The record, from 2002, was called I Break Chairs. Sub-Pop released it, so I figured there was a good chance of it being a solid record. As it was $6.99, it was in my price range and I headed for the register.

This was actually our last stop before the drive home and Mr. Jurado's record was to be the first thing we heard as we headed back south. From the anthemic ringing of the first guitar lick on the song "Paper Wings" I knew I had made a good choice!

Damien has a gruff, commanding, immediate voice that still manages to be trustworthy and inviting. I was in love with the record and listened to it twice all the way through before my wife got sleepy and I put on something much mellower.

My next encounter with Jurado's music was with an altogether different album from 2006 called And Now That I'm In Your Shadow. The quietness of this record was not something I had considered Jurado apt to venture into. However, he pulls it off with 1960s coffeshop mastery! The record is mostly him and his guitar telling earnest, mature confessional stories.  Another great record from a totally different angle!

At this point I was hooked on Damien Jurado's breadth and depth. So, last week I went backwards in his catalog and bought his second full-length from 1999 called Rehearsals for Departure. This is another relatively quiet album. It was at this early stage in his career that folks began to compare his lyrics and delivery to the likes of Dylan, Woody and others. And, while I don't see that connection, I definitely enjoy his music enough to recommend it to anyone! He is a great artist with plenty to say!