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Jim Camacho — Beachfront Defeat
(Bandcamp Think Like a Key TLAK1151, 2009/2023, CD / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2024-04-08

Beachfront Defeat Cover art

In 2009 singer songwriter Jim Camacho released his solo album Beachfront Defeat, a set of eleven songs. Now Think Like A Key has reissued the album and augmented it with an additional twelve tracks, including B-Sides, unfinished outtakes, demos, and working tapes. Beachfront Defeat is a collection of independent finely constructed pop songs with a slight West Coast psych vibe. Camacho sings and plays piano, acoustic and electric guitars, and bass. The songs are fleshed out by additional musicians Fernando Perdomo (electric guitar, keyboards, and bass), Jimmy Hadzopolus (electric guitar), Jordan Welch (drums and percussion), and his brother John (background vocals), along with a number of other musicians on various tracks. The title track is one of the best on the album with its simple catchy jangle-pop tune. “Hello, the End” is a nice love ballad with its surprising ending verse sung by the South Miami Gymnastic Girls Team. Other interesting moments are “Who Knows,” a song about a very confused person with Camacho’s wailing vocals that remind me of Okkerville River’s Will Sheff and “I Don’t Need U Anymore,” an unplugged Camacho song that is sadly depressing like Leonard Cohen’s early work. The B-sides continue with similar music with “Get Out” being an aggressive and freaky pop psych tune. The unfinished outtakes are so-so, which may only appeal to the Jim Camacho fan. The demo track “Nothing Is Impossible” is a stripped down song that is better the rest of the album.  And the album closes with the two working tapes, very muffled lo-fi home recordings that really don’t add much to this reissue.

Filed under: Reissues, 2023 releases, 2009 recordings

Related artist(s): Fernando Perdomo, Jim Camacho

More info
http://jimcamacho.bandcamp.com/album/beachfront-defeat-2023-remaster

 

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