St Jacques' Latest Single Secondhand Car Drives Beautifully
St Jacques’ latest single Secondhand Car is a delightful exploration of soft and distorted sounds twisted tightly around each other to create a cyclone of a song; considered, clever and captivating.
Kaurna Land sextet St Jacques recapture the magic of the mid 00’s explosion of soft indie folk, with a nostalgic dose of sounds that reminisce those of The Middle East or Bon Iver. It’s a genre and time in music that favoured ambition, made memorable by musicians harmoniously in tune with each other, and masterfully in control of their restraint and release. St Jacques represent the absolute best of this sound, delivering songs that stand strong beside those of the aforementioned artists.
Secondhand Car is a song of layered beauty that unravels lyrics of selfcare, recovery and moving forward in the face of mistakes made. Fragile fingers, and failed secondhand car purchases provide the vehicle for delivering lines that land like a break through at therapy - “You will make time for things you love, I know it’s not forever”, “A weight to bare, not yours to keep, now rest your shoulders” - are simply put stunning.
Musically St Jacques carry just as potently with each element placed in a way that creates a sense of comfort or rise in its listener. On each listen you find yourself drawn to something new, pulling apart the song for its flourishes from lush harmonies, lovingly placed bass riffs or sharp synthetic snares. The song is a forest to get lost and fall further in love with each press of the play button.
Secondhand Car is a beautiful song, by a beautiful band.