Since the mid-’90s, Seattle’s Damien Jurado has been recording pretty songs about ugly emotions, sung in a husky voice that suits his blunt lyrics. After a series of buzzed-about cassette-only releases in the ’90s, he cemented his reputation as one of indie-rock’s great songwriters with a trio of turn-of-the-century releases for Sub Pop, including his breakthrough Rehearsals for Departure, and he’s since recorded at a steady clip, issuing four strong discs for Secretly Canadian over the last five years. His latest, Saint Bartlett, is among his most lavishly orchestrated, supplementing Jurado’s pining folk songs with string arrangements that suggest a small-scale Flaming Lips.
Damien Jurado w/ Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground and Conrad Plymouth
Tonight @ Mad Planet, 9 p.m.