Jim Camacho

Before straw-haired singer-songwriter Jim Camacho was one of South Florida's acoustic darlings, he fronted one of the most exciting South Florida bands, the Goods, during one of the most exciting eras of South Florida music, the early '90s. Delivering melody-driven garage rock, the band almost immediately developed a rabid fan base and came seriously close to major-label success, first with Columbia and then with Joan Jett's record company, Blackheart. Billboard magazine called the Goods the ultimate local band, and Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids' first gig was opening for them at Churchill's in 1990.

However, things didn't pan out, and ten years later, Camacho is making his own brand of carefully crafted alternative rock. He still works with former bandmates, two of whom will support him at Luna Star Café this Friday during the release party of his fourth and latest effort, Beachfront Defeat. From the urgency of the single "Marie" to the infectious "Cowboy Jim," Camacho's signature allegiance to straightforward melodies is the backbone of Beachfront. But for him, crafting enjoyable, accessible tunes does not come at the expense of astute and poignant lyricism. That's demonstrated, for instance, by the smooth poetics of "Who Knows," a song that blends funny angst ("I want to shave my head and go to bed... I want to dress up like my mom and walk around town/ And then I'll be all right) with a subtle anxiety about self-preservation and the future.