Damien Jurado has shared details of his third album in the past 12 months, The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania, along with the news that he is also embarking on his first foray into label running with the aptly named Maraqopa Records. It will be out on the 14th May.

The new album contains ten intense stories of people determined not to be broken by dire circumstances. Creating his own Twilight Zone, “a middle ground between light and shadow”, a dimension of imagination, of half-remembered dreams and people reaching out to cross into that liminal space between heartbreak and wholeness. Jurado knows the territory well and knows the secret words to whisper at the right time.

Check the first single from the new album, a gorgeous, slightly jaunty folk ballad titled Helena. It opens the album.

“The world is a liar, the stars are a must,” he sings over brushed drums, a circling bassline, and acoustic guitar.