Damien Jurado's new studio album is the third in his Maraqopa series, which explores the leaving of mainstream society in order to find meaning; the watchful will find themes and characters from his previous two records, offering a kind of musical version of Robert Altman's Short Cuts.

The record is drenched in a psychedelic-folk mist; it begins with the foreboding November 20, with its soft, marching percussion, which sharpens for the the glorious Mellow Blue Polka Dot.

Jurado's vocals on Qachina and the fuzzy Taqoma are effortlessly searching and beautiful. This effortlessness pervades the whole album, yet its thesis is more complex: a slip into the subconscious, harnessing Jurado's sense that "the brain is such a powerful thing".

Some song titles allude to real places bringing in the idea of parallel reality – it's a place to lose yourself in. damienjurado.com