Jacques Limón is the project of St Louis musician John Hams. His self-titled album is the latest release on fellow St Louis residents It Takes Time Records, seven songs of DIY indie rock that’s gritty and infectious in equal measure.
From the opening seconds of first song ‘good’ it’s clear that Jacques Limón intend to hold nothing back. Guitars squeal and drums smash with an energy that’s totally infectious. Above everything else it sounds like tons of fun, songs for remembering that your troubles aren’t really troubles at all.
And despite the fact the songs are crafted mostly from good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n roll elements, they’re continually fresh and surprising. Borrowing a little from all of indie rock’s sub-genres, there’s a little slacker rock and a dash of pop punk and more than a sprinkle of noisy garage rock. ‘Tracers’, for example is one of the more sedate songs on terms of volume and tempo, but it even as it sways through breezy slacker sections (“it’s so cool,” Ham sings, “to be cool”), it feels taut and ready to snap, chugging through verses like a roller coaster approaching the top of a drop, and you know there’s a snarl of guitar waiting as you hurtle to the bottom.
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“I am a blood-soaked pacifist” Ham sings on ‘Salty’, the crunchy lead single that’s as joyously carefree as it is bullishly energetic. The song comes complete with a video by Dan Goedeker, which sees Ham find a secret stash of limes under a floorboard, and then transport from his room to a summertime creek, where he gets wet, goofs off with the limes and generally has fun.
Clocking in at barely over a minute, ‘Parachute’ feels more reserved, somehow muffled and held back, while ‘tick/little crisis’ sounds feisty and fearless, spikes of guitar and throaty vocals rising over the confident drum beat. That’s before finale ‘blue ii’ shreds its way to the close, layered guitars adding a psych-tinged edge to what’s otherwise a straight blast of rock ‘n roll.
Jacques Limón is out now and you can get it on cassette or download from the It Takes Time Records Bandcamp page.