Damien Jurado

For more than a decade now, songwriter Damien Jurado has made his name with folk-based sounds and stunningly direct yet finely measured lyrics. As he proved on 2008’s Caught In The Trees, Jurado still has the strengths that won him a loyal following in the first place: “I’m no lie detector, he’s no bullshit talker,” went the chorus of album-opener “Gillian Was A Horse,” summing up an artist who maintains perspective instead of playing games to court an audience. However, Jurado still enjoys the occasional conceptual exercise: 2010’s Saint Bartlett was recorded in just one week with all the parts performed by Jurado and producer Richard Swift. The duo worked so well together they teamed up again for 2012’s excellent Maraqopa, which is less conceptual, but a lot more exciting.

Updated 05/02/2012