Damien Jurado Gets Otherworldly

For those who have not been following singer-songwriter Damien Jurado’s career and may be revisiting his music for the first time in a while, his latest record, Visions of Us on the Land, is a great place to pick him back up. Though it is the third in a trilogy series, which began with 2012’s MARAQOPA, it can easily stand alone as a shimmering narrative that stretches his sound to grander proportions. The final installment in his series, it is a vivid soundscape, epic and vast and full of mystery. And whether or not you are familiar with the first two parts, you will find something to love about this one.

Listening to the cool grooves Jurado puts forth on Visions of Us on the Land, you are enveloped in his own weird and wonderful fantasy world. And at 17 songs in length, there’s plenty of time to lose yourself. Many of the tracks on Visions of Us on the Land begin with a gentle acoustic guitar intro that burst into layered and effervescent beauties. And Jurado’s classic soft-spoken vocals are elevated and multifaceted, as though it were ten of him singing at once. And when his arrangements reach their full peak, they don’t disappoint. They soar and plunge and explode like fireworks, particularly the lovely and intriguing single “Exit 353” and the steadily building 70s rock throwback opener “November 20”.

Jurado keeps the chaos gracefully contained and refined from start to finish. He alternates between a kind of low key mod lounge sound (“Lon Bella”), and a dream folk saga vibe a la Lord Huron (“Mellow Blue Pool”) with pounding, almost tribal percussion and gauzy harmonies. He is still his signature quiet self, but he’s upped the ante enough notches to keep you swaying along to all of the songs on Visions of Us on the Land. “And Loraine” is one of the prettiest, a trippy and romantic star-gazer that features some of the album’s best backup vocals. For a taste of old classic Jurado, check out the gentle “Prisms”, but to hear him on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, check out the psych-rock, bluesy “Walrus”.

There is seemingly endless dimension on this record, making it fun to take a deep dive into it and really explore all of the offerings. And a lot of the songs are shorter in length, giving just a sweet little snapshot of something that lingers, gorgeous and subtle.