Damien Jurado Tonight!

If you have a lot of nothing, or a little bit of something to do tonight—put aside your plans. We are going to Sonic Boom in Ballard, at 6 PM. Don’t worry, Ballard is kind of cool now. (Kind of).

Tonight is your last chance to see Seattle-based indie luminary Damien Jurado before he heads off on a multi-bi-national tour extravaganza, in support of his most excellent (I’d argue best) new album Maraqopa.

As with all good ideas, Maraqopa came to Jurado in a dream. During a KEXP in-studio last week, the folk songster described waking up in the middle of the night and writing the word “Maraqopa” on a piece of paper. He called Maraqopa a “concept album”, and said that each track was based on a part of that dream. He then refused to explain any further.

Maraqopa begins with the psychedelic-guitar laden single “Nothing is the News”, an unsettling and dreamlike (get it) start to a catchy album that lingers on the edge of weirdness. The production level on this album is much higher than any of his previous work, likely due to a second collaboration with producer Richard Swift (member of the Shins!).

If you were ever turned off by Jurado’s earlier work because sometimes it was a lil too slow and depressing (although, lets be honest this is usually fitting for Seattle), Maraqopa will not allow you this complaint. These songs are laden with infectious downtempo beats. And I mean literally infectious. Main symptom: excessive mild grooving.

Most of these songs are good. Three are the best. “Maraqopa” is the most traditionally Juradoesque; guitars and Damien’s soft wails take the center stage. “This Time Next Year” begins with the melodic “do doos” of a 70s sitcom theme song and eventually transforms into a menacing bossa nova beat, in a good way. In “Museum of Flight”, we are treated to a swooping falsetto and a poignant love song, “I’m so broke, and foolishly in love” sings Jurado. Aren’t we all.

Although we may never receive any further elucidation of what occurred in Damien Juravelous head on that fine night of this album’s conception, there is enough depth in Maraqopa to inspire dreams for the rest of us.