Damien Jurado Covers

Photo via Sarah Jurado, from The Seattle Times' press room concert

The Seattle Times has been posting these sessions all week long where various Seattle musicians cover Damien Jurado's songs from the past. I'm loving these two and looking forward to what the rest of the week holds in store. Damien Jurado's 12th(!) album Maraqopa comes out Feb 21 on Secretly Canadian Records.

Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate) - Last Rights from Caught in the Trees

Pickwick - I am the greatest of all liars from Holding His Breath Ep

Jon Russel (Head & The Heart) - Beacon Hill from Saint Bartlett

(All via Seattle Times)

January Favorites

January and myself didn't get along very well. Things that had potential to go wrong, made sure they did. This probably had a large influence on my listening habits, as I spent a lot of time listening to songs that I can take comfort in. Here's what last.fm says about that...

Of course my top two, Sharon Van Etten and Damien Jurado, had new albums that weren't available to me until late this month but I fell hard for both of them when I finally did get to hear them. You can pre-order both albums and get the tracks now. SVE's Tramp is due out February 7th and Damien Jurado's Maraqopa will be released on February 21st and both are heartbreaking and stunning to say the least.

Sharon Van Etten - Serpents
Damien Jurado - Museum of Flight

As for albums that were actually released this month, First Aid Kit's Lion's Roar was my favorite. They just learned today that the first week of US sales of the new album surpassed their total sales of their debut album. I'm so happy to hear that their fan base has grown that much and that they are receiving the sale numbers and attention they deserve. You can listen to it in it's entirety here.



Other notable releases this month include the following:

Bro. Stephen - Baptist Girls
The rate at which blogs picked up on this album was astounding. The first place I read about it was the trusty folk blog, Common Folk Music, and you can read April's interview with him here. You can stream the album on bandcamp.




Laura Gibson - La Grande (buy)
Laura Gibson - La Grande

Kingsley Flood - Colder Still EP (buy)

Cheyenne Marie Mize - We Don't Need (buy)
Cheyenne Marie Mize - Wishing Well

The Maccabees - Given to the Wild

Chairlift - Something

Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur

John K. Samson - Provincial

Damien Jurado - Museum of Flight

This week has been all about hearing singles from releases due out next week through April. Every morning I've been able to wake up to a new batch of excitement. I hope I'm not starting to sound insincere when I say this is at the top of my most anticipated albums of 2012, but Maraqopa the new album from Damien Jurado due out February 21st, really is. I've heard from a few Seattle based people and friends of Damien that this is the album of the year. I believe them.

The first single released, "Nothing is the News" was an absolute slow burning jam, full of twist and turns and lots of guitar. Now "Museum of Flight" is a different animal with it's slow hip swaying rhythm and his wavering signature falsetto that could break your heart, especially in the first verse when his voice soars above the quietly strummed guitar. This is the best breakup song I've heard in a while, it's one part pain, one part looking back, and one part hoping the person can still be there. "Don't let go, I need you to hang around / I'm so broke and foolishly in love". 

Damien Jurado - Museum of Flight

Damien Jurado - Nothing is the News

Damien Jurado has released his first single from his forthcoming album, Maraqopa, due out February 21st. There's not much else to say because it's new Damien Jurado and it's insanely good but probably not what you're expecting to hear. He's one of the few that has taken the mundane "folk" genre and pulled it and stretched it in every possible direction. He continues to evolve starting with this song.

Damien Jurado - Nothing is the News