Damien Jurado

Damien Jurado

And Now That I’m in Your Shadow (Secretly Canadian;
October 2006)

A Seattle-based singer-songwriter, Damien Jurado launches
into another offering of his
beautifully mournful recorded contemplations and delivers what
is perhaps his most compelling album yet. This is no small
achievement for an artist who has already delivered a collection of
recordings that are as stunning in their reason as they are in
their rawness. In opening the album with the somber
“Hoquiam,” Jurado quickly signals his emotive intent for the
ensuing fifty minutes. “I Had No Intention” is a wallowing ballad
about the retribution of adultery. Its meditative acoustic guitar,
plaintive piano, and laconic vocals summon an aura of absolute
bleakness.

Hopelessness is a common thread across And Now That I’m In
Your Shadow, as its title track so compellingly underlines.
Violins wail and cymbals crash in the distance as a mournful
electric guitar line weaves its way through the blustery bleakness.
And Now That I’m In Your Shadow is by no means an easy
recording to navigate. Its tales depict infidelity, murder and lost
love — and Jurado tackles with
honesty and candor that make this recording an unsettling place to
linger. But through coaxing the listener into abandoning their
reservations and diving headlong into the heart and soul of his
ballads, Damien Jurado’s languid recital becomes all the more
inflicting — and leaves you wanting more.