And Gathered In Song / I Break Chairs

Damien Jurado

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 19, 2002)
• Original Release Date: February 19, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sub Pop
• ASIN: B00005Y1UE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,262 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

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

Product Description
Heading off in yet another new direction with his 4th full-length, Damien Jurado has assembled a full band for I Break Chairs. And, the results here are twelve new songs, full and alive, with jangling guitars and rolling drums carrying Damien's inimitable sense of narrative and powerful vocal delivery. Thematically, Damien visits ground fans will be familiar with: friends disappointed, abandoned whores and mermaids, boys ditching their girls, a modern-day love story rife with juvenile delinquency. Produced by David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), the new record shows Damien still capable of breaking more than chairs, so watch out for your heart.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First great record of 2002, February 20, 2002

By	Jonathan J. Casey (the twin cities) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yeah, it can be disorienting- even alarming- to hear the balls-out rock guitar of the opener "Paperwings," but if you make the adjustment you will be rewarded. I wasn't too excited by the somnambulant "Ghost of David" album, so for someone like me "I Break Chairs" is a great reward. Damien has put together a solid band (Gathered In Song) and his friend David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) produces. Jurado's usual themes (loss, distance, pain) are still present even if the package they're wrapped in looks a little different. There are some more laid-back tracks, though, like "Air Show Disaster," a sing-songy meditation on ruin. "Like Titanic" stands out with its glockenspiel and "I don't know the meaning of self-destruction" chorus. I love Beulah but this is a completely different sort of record: more along the lines of Jim O'Rourke's "Insignificance" from 2001 (conflicted, often negative lyrical content mixed with rootsy guitars and occasional touches of serene beauty). Not a "pop" record per se but certainly a thoughtful, earthy batch of songs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jurado gets guitar-y and loud..., May 15, 2002

By	Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

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.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Uncle Tupelo Springsteen?", November 21, 2003

By	Mudd Madison "music genius" (Stanberry, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews

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."