Damien Jurado

The Horizon Just Laughed

BY Zack FenechPublished May 1, 2018

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Damien Jurado has proven time and time again that he is incredibly sentimental. He's done this without fail over a career spanning two decades, and The Horizon Just Laughed, the latest from the Seattle-based songwriter, is also the first self-produced album from his catalogue.
 
This recent collection of Jurado originals, to no surprise, musters quite the emotional response. As an artist that wears his influences on his sleeve, he doesn't hesitate to shy away from his traditional folk roots. From the powerhouse, R&B-influenced opener "Allocate" to the '60s pop-inspired closer "Random Fearless," The Horizon Just Laughed is an album capable of moving listeners figuratively and literally. The pastiche of genres aptly complement and accent the American folk foundation that he's built his style and brand on.
 
Single "Over Rainbows and Rainier" delivers his familiar classic style of Americana-inspired folk. The track stands apart for being an emotionally driven, lullaby-esque ballad, evoking imagery of a drive through a rainy American West coast. There's additional proof on another folk ballad, "The Last Great Washington State"; while it's poetic lyrics contain the album title, Jurado candidly declares on this ode to his home state that "the clock is a murderer."
 
Considering this, The Horizon Just Laughed can be interpreted as a gentle, yet sinister reminder that every day our time on Earth ends, but the horizon, arguably, doesn't.
(Secretly Canadian)

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