Damien Jurado comes from the school known as "emo pop," a musical form that mixes the contrasting dynamics of grunge with free-form lyrics and improvised vocal melodies. His old band Coolidge was featured on the Tooth and Nail indie punk sampler I'm Your Biggest Fan. For his solo debut record, however, Jurado trades in his punk roots to try on his "sensitive songwriter" hat for a record that borrows from folk, '60s pop, and a dash of lo-fi modern pop. For example, the second track, "Angel of May," layers Hammond organ, mandolin, piano and a rhythm that I would swear was sampled from the game "Donkey Kong Country." "Space Age Mom" uses a surf arrangement and Beach Boys vocals to underscore his quirky tale of the post-atomic nuclear family. These songs are all about characters, and it's easy to cast the characters of these songs as residents of Jurado's street. In his tales, Waters Ave. S. lies just around the corner from hope springs eternal. Many of the songs ("Wedding Cake," "Treasure of Gold," "Hell or Highwater," "Halo Friendly") are about love lost and unrequited. They are romantic, sad songs that believe more in the notion of love, not in spite of all the broken hearts, but because of them. They may bring a tear to your eye, but they'll bring a smile to your face as well.
Other coverage for this album
Garlic Press #6Reviewed by J. Edward Keyesa witty lo-fi folk album, each song is a story & each lyric is an actor. each of his sad sorry characters live within the fragile confines of damien's creaky voice and delicate chord progressions. like dylan on prozac, jurado serenely delivers tales of lost love, new age mothers and vindictive circus clowns. adding to the sparse arrangements are a variety of instruments such as trumpet,…The Phantom Tollbooth 1997Reviewed by Linc LefeistePrior to being signed to Sub Pop records, Damien Jurado had put out several seven inch vinyl records and cassettes of great emo/indie rock. He also had a song under the name Coolidge on a recent Tooth and Nail compilation. Waters Ave South presents a mellower side of Damien Jurado than his previous work. It is his first full length on Sub Pop and it has been picked up for distribution in the…Similar sounding releases
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2002The BillionsNever Felt This Way Before
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1998Steve HindalongSkinny
2005In Praise of FollyMeans/Ends
2002Neva DinovaNeva DinovaMore from Damien Jurado
2000Postcards and Audio Letters
1999Rehearsals for Departure
2003Holding His Breath
1996Trampoline
2000Ghost of David
2005On My Way to Absence
