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Jurado's "Shadow" kicks off project |
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Written by MATTHEW SIEFERT
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Tuesday, 17 October 2006 |
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It was announced earlier this year that Seattle folk songwriter Damien Jurado planned to release a double album in the fall of this year. After some careful consideration, Jurado decided to split the album into two separate records. This the “darker” of the two albums, due earlier this month, features Jurado and his touring band splitting the songwriting duties threefold for the first time since "The Gathered in Song" era of his career.
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Damien Jurado
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 Entertainment
 Art
“And Now That I’m In Your Shadow”
(Secretly Canadian)
Released October 10, 2006
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“And Now That I’m in Your Shadow” is a very territorial record. This is nothing new for Jurado. “Rehearsals for Departure” and “Ghost of David” were also constructed on common themes. Nevertheless, the songs on this record focus more on the stories, not necessarily the location of where the stories took place – I make that distinction only to avoid confusion that Jurado is joining the Sufjan Steven’s rankings in the 50 states project. In fact, Jurado himself jokingly mentioned that he didn’t think that Sufjan would be writing a record about his beloved state of Washington any time soon.
If there is a unifying concept on the record, which is difficult to tell if there really is one, it generally favors tales of infidelity and debauchery. This isn’t new. In fact Jurado and longtime friend and fellow songwriter David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) have been penning some of the best-go-out-and-cheat-on-your-wife themed songs you could ever want to hear. “What Were the Chances” finds Jurado stretching and effervescent affair into a saddening questioning with lines like, “Does your husband know that I call you sweetheart? / It’s not like we’re cheating / we’re only meeting in hotels and not your home.” All the while the click track ushered beat and calm guitar strums suggest a soothing yet haunting tone that confuses as much as it gathers interest.
Other songs on the record are less specific, but ultimately tell a similar story. “Shannon Rhoades” is another example of a story song that has a particularly Springsteenian bend that is actually quite refreshing for Jurado to embrace every once in a while given that it is always treacherous line to toe for any songwriter. But with Jurado’s notoriety, which is well deserved to this point, the songs are allowed to have their own weight apart from such folk heroes past.
The record is also uncharacteristic in the sense that all the instrumental tracks are among the most solid songs on the record. You have to imagine that much of the credit is due to Jurado’s backing band – as an excited Jurado has been explaining in interviews, he is finally “a band” – members cellist/vocalist Jenna Conrad and longtime collaborator, guitarist/keyboardist/drummer Eric Fisher.
While there are certainly some signs of musical brilliance on “And Now” taken as a whole the results of the record are not remarkable. This should not be an especially shocking revelation in that this is still a minimalistic acoustic record at heart. So in essence, the marketing plan worked: We’re all waiting for Part Two, Mr. Jurado. Well played.
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