Peer Validated

Caught in the Trees, out today on Secretly Canadian, is the album that I’ve been waiting for Damien Jurado to make for years. It is a combination of everything he’s done right in his career and surprise, it’s a great album. I blame Jurado for my expectations. I’ve really liked three or four songs on every album over the last several years, but with each I couldn’t help but feel like he could do better. That’s what happens when you have a perfect song on your resume. Ohio, the opener to his 1999 album for Subpop, Rehearsals for Departure, is the culprit; four chords, one harmonica, three immaculately constructed verses. It might be really lazy fandom on my part, but that song tinted my opinion of everything else he’s done. That said, Caught in the Trees makes good on the promise of Jurado’s unmistakable talent as a songwriter.
Some credit should go to the supporting cast. This album is more of a team effort than anything before it. If the songs weren’t so good, long time collaborator Eric Fisher would have stolen the show like a gypsy in the night. His guitar work is subtle and ballsy, also like a gypsy. Electric guitar, especially on what is ultimately still a folk album, needs a contextual heart. ‘Tis best to be understated. Thanks Eric. Jenna Conrad adds some lovely strings and the lady harmonies that have always complimented Jurado’s voice. While not the voice of past harmonizer, Rosie Thomas, she is no slouch. Not at all.
Jurado has the gift of melancholy. His best stuff is sad. He claims to have two sorts of songs: happy-sounding with semi-dark lyrics or sad-sounding with dark lyrics. Songs about asking god to kill your mentally ill brother is what he means by dark lyrics. I happen to think that the sad ones tend to be more compelling. So I’m a sad sack, sue me. The new material seems to stray from the narrative nature of his previous work into something more personal. Maybe it’s still fiction, but it feels less so. Maybe that’s good fiction.

Damien Jurado - Go First