First up, a confession. I’d only had a passing acquaintance with Damien Jurado prior to What’s New, Tomboy? But after listening to the American singer-songwriter’s 15th album I’d recommend anyone to delve deeper.
The 10 tracks feature stripped-down finger-picked guitars and Jurado’s soothing vocals up front. There’s no over-production or sledgehammer beats. Nothing is overdone. Indeed, only four of the songs are over three minutes long. He’s a master of understatement.
Ochoa is an intimate, fret-squeaking confessional; through headphones it’s as if Jurado is in the same room. Standout track Arthur Aware is more upbeat but the surging drums are back in the mix, gentle guitar to the fore, lyrics wonderfully poetic: “I keep all of my past reflections in glass jars from the corridor. And when I get bored of looking at myself I trade the grey for the shade of someone else.”
At first listen the album washes over you, like immersing yourself in a just-perfect temperature bath. But listen again and the subtleties of each song come to the surface. It’s an accomplished collection well worth discovering.
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