[.ca] I Break Chairs

From Amazon.com:
Like Mark Eitzel and the Red House Painters, Damien Jurado has made a name for himself by writing fairly melancholy pop tunes. Over the course of five albums, Jurado has authored enough sad, dark stories to strike a chord with Nick Drake fans and leave listeners' hearts very heavy, but he hasn't really done anything new with his work. I Break Chairs is a different step in Jurado's career, as he brings in a full band (Gathered in Song) that mixes the moody melodies up with slightly higher-energy indie rock tracks--but the overall vibe is still as sedated as his early stuff. Chairs just kind of ambles along without really going anywhere--even when the tempo changes from pastoral folk to buoyant rock, the song always seems to sound the same. Fans with the "if it ain't broke" attitude toward Jurado's music might find some hidden gems in this album, but for catchier mood-swinging indie pop, releases from Death Cab for Cutie and Beulah are better choices than Chairs. --Jennifer Maerz

The mainstream ought to be this interesting:
Mainstream rock continues to lean into the lame nu-metal and tried... rock that we've seen for years. There are many interesting new artists that are working regionally outside the mainstream of American rock. Damien Jurado, usually a lot more moody and mopey than this, finally learns to RAWK! I Break Chairs has some tender moments that we're used to from this artist, but when the volume goes up with Jurado, he becomes much more interesting as a performer to me. The set is produced by David Bazan of Pedro the Lion. This will definitely be the most overlooked disc of the year if radio doesn't play anything, and frankly I'd rather be selfish and have him stay indie and small and let the masses listen to more generalized stupidity like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park.

Thanks to the band:
This is a great album. I have always wondered what Damien would sound like with a full rock band backing him. This album is full on indie rock. Great melodies. Damien's voice is a little different when he sings with a full band, but this is a good thing. He has so much power in his voice, you really feel what he is singing. If you are a fan of his previous work, you will get plenty of satisfaction from this. The airwaves need more songwriters like this.

Jurado gets guitar-y and loud...:
I'm a big fan of Jurado's mopey, not-for-everyone, lo-fi-ish weirdo pop approach, although I have to confess I was, like many others, caught a bit off guard by this one. I guess it's the overly aggro, thumpa-thumpa guitar rock attack of the opening tracks that rubs folks the wrong way; on his last couple of albums, Jurado has been moving towards an ever-more subtle sound, and here, suddenly, he's just bashing away. All the songs sound the same, and the lyrics are impossible to make out -- you find yourself wondering, "when will this record relent?" That happens midway through, on "Never Ending Tide," which is followed by several other songs reminiscent of Jurado's you-can't-quite-place-it style... Plus, you can make the lyrics out again, and they're kind of cool and weird, just like you'd expect. Then the record starts to get a bit bash-y again, but it ends before it can really get on your nerves. I don't know if hardening his sound and thickening the production was the right move to make, but after a few tries, I discovered this record wasn't as impenetrable as I thought at first... It's worth sticking with it if you're a Jurado fan, though it may be slow going for some.

Awesome!:
This is one of those CDs that you can play over and over and keep discovering new things. Very cool indy music. I love the honesty in Damien's music and lyrics. I've heard this CD twenty times in the last two weeks and I can't wait to hear it again. I wish there was more music like this out there.

"Uncle Tupelo Springsteen?":
With most of the people today listening to whatever the 5:00, drive-time DJ brainwashes them into believing is a good song, it is no wonder I had never heard any songs by Damien Jurardo before buying "I Break Chairs." I have to say I was absolutely shocked/amazed by this album. It reminds me of Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt but with more of a Bruce Springsteen type voice. The scary thing is, that is not such a bad thing in this case. "Paper Wings" is as good a song as I've heard forever and "Never Ending Tide" is just incredible. I don't know what genre to try to put this in. I wouldn't necessarily just call him a singer/songwriter although he is. I don't know what "alternative" or "alt-cpuntry are" so I won't use those. I guess you would just have to call it "damn good music."

• Paper Wings
• Dancing
• Birdcage
• Inevitable
• Air Show Disaster
• Never Ending Tide
• Big Deal
• Way You Look
• Castles
• Like Titantic
• Parade
• Lose My Head