Damien Jurado Releases Three New Home Recordings, At Least One Could Be a Single

It's less than three weeks until Damien Jurado's Saint Bartlett is released on Secretly Canadian, but he's still churning out some great material on MySpace. On the whole, his weekly home recordings have been down tempo, lilting compositions, some better than others. One of his earliest songs, "Diamond Sea," might still be the best, although "Axes and Switches" just three weeks ago was a smart standout.

The same pattern holds true for his three most recent songs. "Towers" is a solid track driven by acoustic guitars. It's classic Jurado, down tempo and melancholy without sounding melodramatic. "Rosa Lee" is a little more country, with twangy guitars and doubled vocals; it's easy to skip after one listen but becomes more compelling and catchy the third or fourth time around.

But "It's Never Enough," the song Jurado posted this week, has the makings of a great single. It opens with Nick Drake-styled guitars and moves into a mid-tempo, gospel-tinged song. The beat is driven by handclaps; paired with the lyrics, "It's Never Enough" is also unexpectedly hopeful. You can almost hear an imaginary audience singing along.