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Inspired by Frank Sinatra’s “Saloon Song” albums of the 1950s, Damon & Naomi set out to record the slowest, saddest songs of an already notably slow and sad catalogue. Adding a string section to The Earth Is Blue horn section of Bhob Rainey and Greg Kelley (here augmented by the mournful oboe of Kyle Bruckmann), Within These Walls features the densest and most ambitious orchestrations of Damon & Naomi’s career.

1. Lilac Land
2. The Well
3. On The Aventine
4. Within These Walls
5. Red Flower
6. Defibrillation
7. Stars Never Fade
8. A Silver Thread
9. The Turnaround
10. Cruel Queen

Damon Krukowski – acoustic guitar, drums, vocals
Naomi Yang – bass, keyboards, vocals
Michio Kurihara – electric guitar
Bhob Rainey – soprano sax
Greg Kelley – trumpet
Kyle Bruckmann – oboe, english horn
Helena Espvall – cello
Margaret Wienk – cello
Katt Hernandez – violin

Produced by Damon & Naomi
Horn and string arrangements by Bhob Rainey
Engineered and mixed by Damon Krukowski at Kali Studios, 2006 – 2007
Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music
Design and still-life photographs by Naomi Yang
Portrait of Damon & Naomi by Norman Gholson

Praise for Within These Walls:

“Within These Walls ranks alongside Damon & Naomi’s best work (their time with Galaxie 500 included) and is proof of their formidable staying power both artistically and as a band.” — All Music

“There is a sustained lonesome mood to the entire album that references the kind of cigarette box apocalypse style of Leonard Cohen as well as the elegiac folk-rock modes of Sandy Denny. The songwriting is as literate as it is inspired, with some of the duo’s most affecting compositions snuggled up in weeping strings and batteries of psychedelic guitar.” — David Keenan, Volcanic Tongue

“Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang have slowly, steadily, stealthily made themselves into one of the most consistently interesting cultural juggernauts on the contemporary scene. As musicians, their work has been carefully progressing for two decades, and their new album, Within These Walls, is thus far their masterpiece.” — Byron Coley and Thurston Moore, Arthur