There’s a remarkable consistency displayed in Damien Jurado’s fifteen years of carefully crafted songs. Sure, the general aesthetic varies from album to album, particularly on his decidedly rocking 2002 collaboration with Gathered in Song, I Break Chairs, and his 50s-pop-infused 2010 LP Saint Bartlett, but the many of his records subsist on a steady diet of acoustic guitar. It’s the songwriting that provides the strongest continuity: a melancholic cloud enveloping lived-in stories of lost loves and tragic histories in Middle America. Sufjan Stevens turned state-based storytelling into a gimmick for Michigan and Illinois, but Jurado’s longing cartography pops up when needed, anchoring the heartbreaking “Ohio” from 1999’s Rehearsals for Departure and the flickering nostalgia of Saint Bartlett’s “Arkansas.” What Jurado lacks in flash and fashion he more than makes up for in lasting appeal.

Despite my fondness for Damien Jurado’s catalog, I hadn’t seen him live before this week. Blame me, not him—it feels like he rolls through Boston every six months, usually on a bill with like-minded folk singers. It took a live album issued for Record Store Day to push me out the door to catch his latest tour.

Live at Landlocked catches Jurado at an in-store performance at Bloomington, Indiana’s Landlocked Records from June 13, 2010. Understandably heavy on Saint Bartlett, released the previous month, Landlocked offers five songs from that Richard Swift-produced album and one from the accompanying Our Turn to Shine EP, along with one apiece from 2006’s And Now That I’m in Your Shadow and 2008’s Caught in the Trees, and three new songs. It’s somewhat amazing that Jurado already had three new songs a month after his newest album came out, but each is a worthy addition to his catalog. “Thax Douglas #1” commemorates writing impromptu poems about bands and reading them prior to their sets. Thax recently moved down to Austin, but this song is a welcome tribute. (It also provides “Illinois” for Jurado state-name bingo.) No, “Diamond Sea” is not a Sonic Youth cover, but its yearning chorus is equally wonderful. Finally, “You for a While” head-fakes at more reserved emotion, but its enthusiastic whoops pull me off the couch.

While it doesn’t spend much time combing through Jurado’s ever-expanding back catalog, Landlocked nevertheless does an excellent job of melding past, present, and future. Saint Bartlett’s reverb-heavy production is washed away here for straight acoustic and vocals takes on those songs, and it’s compelling to hear how easily they sit alongside the older “Denton, Texas.” Jurado’s likeably sheepish stage banter cuts through the resonant melancholy of his songs, giving Landlocked the warmth of one of a living room performance. If you’re a Jurado fan, it’s a must-have; if you’re a newcomer fortunate enough to find a copy, it’s not a bad starting place.

Landlocked convinced me to finally stop waffling and catch Damien Jurado in concert, which came in an opening slot for John Vanderslice at Brighton Music Hall on May 15th. Perhaps the pairing with the unrelentingly gregarious Vanderslice made Jurado seem bashful in comparison, but Jurado’s long stage banter was the introduction of Melodie Knight of Campfire OK, who joined him for half of his set. Knight’s background vocals provided the lone accompaniment for Jurado’s acoustic guitar and expressive voice, echoing lines from Saint Bartlett’s “Cloudy Shoes” and adding harmony to several others. Jurado’s on-stage reservation was curious in comparison with Landlocked, but hardly off-putting; a gray and rainy Sunday night worked too well with the lingering sadness of his songs to worry about a less-than-chatty singer.

The song selection was a bit more varied than Landlocked, starting off with Caught in the Trees’ “Sheets,” sampling his back catalog, debuting three new songs (none of which were on Landlocked), and peaking with a spine-chilling rendition of “Ohio,” which may very well be Jurado’s finest song. If you’d like to hear the set, There There Li’l Bear has an excellent recording of it. I’ll gladly hear those new songs again.

I still have miles to go in my trek through Damien Jurado’s discography, but for once, I’m not in a hurry. While Live at Landlocked and the performance at the Brighton Music Hall underscored his strengths, they also pleaded for patience. The more time I’ve spent with each of Jurado’s records, the more I’ve enjoyed them, so giving cursory spins to the loose ends won’t help. I may advocate taking your time with his ten full-lengths (not counting the largely overlooked Hoquiam collaboration with his brother Drake), but not with starting the journey. See him live, track down Rehearsals for Departure, or snare one of the remaining copies of Live at Landlocked.