Review Summary: Leave some magic left to dream…
The albums we least expect tend to impact us the most. At just 24 years of age, Jacob Alon released their debut,
In Limerence, a stunningly poetic and hauntingly beautiful introduction to the young singer’s experiences in love, heartbreak and yearning fixation to an unsuspecting world. The prodigal young artist from Scotland possesses an incredible talent for storytelling through folk melodies that are as equally impressive in their delicate musical simplicity as they are in their vast emotional depth.
Under the careful production of Dan Carey,
In Limerence is not only personal in its content but also in its delivery. The sound feels only a few studio tweaks away from being there right in front of Alon onstage, their guitar reverberating notes off the walls of a small London venue and whispering them back into the ears of a silent yet attentive audience. The vocals are delivered with intimate passion, weaving stories of self-reflection and loss (“Confession”), the disappointment of hook-ups (“Liquid Gold 25”) and the dangers of unrealistic love (“Fairy in a Bottle”).
Despite the heft of the subject matter, the songs are expressed with such a tender care and elegance that they project a kind of catharsis from the singer as opposed to an abject sadness. The technical skill of the guitar carries wistfully with the light production notes like sweeps and bells on “I Couldn’t Feed Her” and nostalgic recordings of childhood memories on “Home Tapes.”
Album highlight “August Moon” shows off Alon’s range with their intricate finger playing transitioning into a more aggressive strumming style as the song progresses. Interestingly, the albums closer, “Sertraline”, is the only song on the album not to feature any guitar playing, yet the track still manages to bring
In Limerence to a satisfying conclusion as the strings, the keyboard and static carry off into the distance.
For the premier effort of such a young and promising artist,
In Limerence is quite a masterful creation, fully realized with colorful production. Alon melds tales of personal anguish and a love of fantastical imagery into a stunning musical landscape, recapturing a magic similar to what many experienced upon hearing Sufjan’s
Illinois twenty years earlier. It is an album not only to be listened to but to be experienced, and an experience that captivates the listener the same way the songs of Nick Drake and Adrianne Lenker had for a young Jacob Alon. True to the album’s name,
In Limerence is a work to obsessively fall in love with.
Recommended Tracks:
Of Amber
Don’t Fall Asleep
Confession
Liquid Gold 25
August Moon
