Damien Jurado - "Denton Tx."
When Joe first turned me onto Damien Jurado last spring I couldn't get enough. Rehearsal's For Departure soon became one of my favorite albums and I couldn't stop singing his praises. Needless to say, I was super excited for the oppurtunity to see him live at Sasquatch over Memorial Day Weekend. But for some reason his live performance didn't deliver; mainly because of the distorted amps and loud sound that droned out his cozy, Midwest appeal. I was quite dissapointed.
Upon hearing that his new album was going to hit stores in October of this year via Secret Canadian records, I got re-excited and hoped to enter myself in another Damien Jurado phase, like I had before. But after a spin or two through Now That I'm In Your Shadow, I was bored, disinterested, and once again disappointed.
...But here I am today: a changed man. For some reason I revisisted this album the other day and proceeded to get hit by it like a ton of bricks - something just clicked this time around and I have now fell in love with almost every track, soaking up every drop of its warm, depressing folk.
-mp3- Damien Jurado - Denton, Tx.
In the past few days I think every time I've opened up my iTunes I have immediately clicked on this song. Although the album is filled with sadness, this song might be the culmination of this feeling as it tells a story of a girl who has lost her dad and is now seemingly wandering through her life. Somehow Damien's music always seems to perfectly coincide with the angst and longing that he describes in his lyrics:
She has a dad she doesn't know
Who sends her letters with no return address...
"I don't know his name..."
"He don't know my face..."
"I am better off this way..."
...this song is no exception. With these lyrics resonating with loss, Damien crafts a beautiful song with alternating views of perspective within the song's narration. Gentle strumming and a casual piano are all that back the lyrics, but it's all it needs. As the song softly weaves in and out of various people's thoughts, it never ceases to reflect its lonely, remorseful tone.
Another track off of Damien's 7th and newest LP:
-mp3- Damien Jurado - What Were The Chances
My favorite Damien Jurado track, also coincidentally about loss:
-mp3- Damien Jurado - Ohio
Website / Myspace / Buy Now That I'm In Your Shadow / More MP3's
posted by pete at 11:19 PM
2 Comments:
Hi - I kind of found your page when looking up the lyrics to Denton, TX and your review of that song hit ME like a tonne of bricks. I really enjoyed your thoughtful review, and love Damien's songs and albums also. I was just telling a friend tonight that I once spent my last twenty bucks on seeing him play. It was worth every penny.
i don't have many people to whom i can talk about damien jurado's music since he is still and inexplicably unknown to a lot of folks. always glad to find a fellow fan. a link to a post i did many months ago. it was even quoted on his myspace page but was quickly pulled when i called them on it. don't now why though. i just asked to be acknowledged for my post.
http://daysofourlife.wordpress.com/2007/01/28/damien-jurado-sad-sack-folk-rock/
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