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"It just so happens I have many concerns," sings Damien Jurado on "Medication," the opening cut of Ghost of David, before letting loose with a tale of despair and woe rarely matched: the singer is quietly struggling with an affair while his brother sits in a sanitarium, suffering from delusions. The singer is being twisted and turned by the mounting troubles kicking in from both sides. Just as his excellent second album, Rehearsals for Departure, began with the mesmerizing "Ohio," Jurado has again pulled it off for his third solo album. The Pacific Northwest has been a fertile ground for all kinds of songwriters this past decade, but Jurado is single-handedly reviving the raw-boned, skeletal folk song. These tunes wouldn't sound out of place on one of Harry Smith's revered folk anthologies. Even when Jurado ups the amp volume for "Paxil," it's still within the cozy confines of the rec room. But he's at his best for the lonely, ambient "Tonight I Will Retire" and the mountain harmonies of "Rosewood Casket." --Rob O'Connor