Yes, there’s no denying that Damien Jurado has been using his time well during the lockdown as he announces his 17th album The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania. The self-produced album is to be released on his new label Maraqopa Records – named after the mysterious place which featured in his tenth studio album produced by the late Richard Swift.
The cosmic gloss of those trio of albums with Swift is swapped here for a more dry, homespun ambience, the first revelation of which comes in the form of lead single Helena. It’s a spare and lo-fi’esque strolling-folk-shuffle, that, for all its stark simplicity, is all the more engaging. Aided admirably by Josh Gordon, the two of them provide all instrumentation.
The album documents ten stories of people determined not to be broken by their dire circumstances (nothing out of the ordinary for Jurado album). On Helena, he sings:
Stealing the coins from the pockets of fools
Exchanging of hands where the riddles are gold
Laughter, a currency we’ll never afford
You were never as big as you were told
Seeing yourself through the waves of farewell
Where once you were them but now cannot tell
Being unsure of who you are now
The world is a liar, the stars are a must
Inspired by the sound of records like Lou Reed’s The Bells and Paul McCartney’s Ram, Jurado produced the new album himself, employing “a certain dryness,” which allowed the songs to feel cavernous, even “after spending so long in reverb land,” Jurado laughs.
The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania was self-produced by Jurado and sees him backed by multi-instrumentalist Josh Gordon on bass, guitar, drums, percussion and keys. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania will be released on Damien Jurado’s Maraqopa Records on May 14th.