The sparse, beautiful, cryptic cover art should be the tip-off that once you slit the shrink-wrap skin of Gomez second release, Liquid Skin, you are in for an unusual experience.
How do you get information about a band that obviously doesn't want you to know much about them? How do you get information about a group of musicians who obviously feel the music is the message, not the personalities? Fan web sites! This truly the only way to get info about these guys because they include almost nothing within the CD. No liner notes. No pictures. No lyrics.
I was introduced to Gomez via Amazon.com. The most unlikely of all places, and honestly the place that I am least likely to trust to know my musical tastes. Sure, I buy a fair amount of music from Amazon because it's convenient and often their prices, including shipping, are better than some of my favorite local music stores. I don't trust their "judgement" of my tastes because Amazon uses software that compares your purchases with other customers' choices it deems similar. They then suggest that you might want to try a CD, or book by X, Y or Z. My choices aren't that easily categorized. But I digress…
After listening to a few tracks of Gomez music via Napster (…was that the copyright police at the door…?) I was impressed enough to get my butt in motion to my local "shop-o'-tunes". There I purchased Gomez debut release Bring it On released in 1998. I was impressed. Really impressed.
So I immediately went out and bought the second release by Gomez, Liquid Skin. I was not disappointed.
The Pearl Jam Thing
Dozens of bands have been compared to Pearl Jam; singers to Eddie Vedder. Generally for the most superficial of reasons. Gomez has shared in this dubious reference. Dubious not because of any lack of brilliance on the part of Pearl Jam, just the lumping of a certain band type in the Pearl Jam heap.
Well, Gomez's consistent comparison is valid and well earned. Melodically and lyrically they share certain similarities. Gomez is a more acoustically driven band, but their roots seem to come from the same blues and rock and roll tree. Listening to Liquid Skin it sounds as if Credence Clearwater Revival and Pearl Jam merged to form some weird hybrid musical experience. The music is bluesy, rock and roll, jazzy, with a bit of Grateful Dead (whom I personally don't like, but the vibe works here).
The quintet features three vocalists who alternate and sometimes share lead vocal duties. Ben Ottewell (guitar) possesses the Vedder-like voice. He has the growl and oddly polyphonic pipes and handles the majority of the lead vocals. Unlike Vedder, I can always understand what he is singing. And since Gomez apparently doesn't believe in reprinting lyrics in the CD packaging, that's a good thing. The counterpoint to Ottewell's vocals are those of Ian Ball (guitar and harmonica), and Tom Gray (guitar and keyboards). The band is completed by Paul Blackburn (bass, backing vocals), and Olly Peacock (drums and percussion).
Like many British groups, you would be hard pressed to identify them as Brits by their vocals or music. Starting with the opener Hangover, it's obvious that the group was influenced by American music. Slide guitars, bits of reverb, syncopated drums, banjos (or something similar cleverly sampled), and a fretless bass. It's a track that sounds like a living room jam session.
Revolutionary Kind is an obscenely catchy head-nodding tune with jangling guitars and somewhat dreamy instrumentation. In this track as in others, the guitar work is beautiful, simple and textural. Just a bit of electrics mixed in for good measure.
Bring It On (which oddly isn't on the previous album of the same name), starts off with the dreamy feel and quickly ramps up. The driving jam is layered with distorted guitars, maracas, percussion and well-orchestrated, yet seemingly spontaneous vocal harmonies. They range from simple two-part to a Beatle-esque falsetto choral style.
Blue Moon Rising starts as a groovy little bluesy/jazzy tune and escalates into a rambling, swirling, hypnotic jam.
Rosalita is a beautiful acoustic guitar, bass, conga tune. A cool little love song, brilliantly sparse yet full of texture.
One of my favorite songs on the disc is We Haven't Turned Around. It opens with two bars of a cello solo and goes into an essentially acoustic guitar and vocal with soft drums. Ottewell's lead vocal is paradoxically gritty and soft. The chorus gets big, sounding as if there is a full orchestra involved, but it's just distorted guitars, the cello and a couple of violins.
There are a few more tracks on the disc but this is an accurate snapshot of the collection.
The band has a sound that, weird as it sounds, is organic/acoustic and electronic all at the same time. Don't ask me how they do it. That's what makes the recording so damn fine. In recording the album they tried a variety of things to create the sounds they wanted. Examples? Using a fire extinguisher as percussion; singing through a toilet paper roll, and using an electric guitar as gigantic drum mic.
This is a CD I have a hard time not listening to for more than a week at a time. Some people may not get it. Why not? Because Gomez doesn't fit into a specific musical slot. Some people need that slot to make them happy. Some need 'N Sync :::shudder::: to make them happy. Gomez is "grown-up" music.
Personally, I think a pair of headphones and a copy of Liquid Skin will make you very happy.
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