GOMEZ – A NEW TIDE
Gomez are a band who seemingly can’t do wrong; from the word go their albums have been embraced and lauded by countless bedroom multi-tracking teens, and international music critics alike. What makes their melting-pot sound so appealing is the variety of music within their canon; and here on their sixth studio album they’ve opted for a distinctly playful palette, lingering largely in the acoustic realm. This is a timely thing given the current new appreciation for the 1960’s freak-folk movement. These guys have always done that well, so here we’re not hearing anything new, but all these tracks are easily pallet-able. Bluesy guitars amble their way through the the whispering, poignant Win Park Slope, and the acoustic quirk of If I Ask You Nicely smacks nicely of Mutations-era Beck with its Cuban lilt. Ben Ottewel and Ian Ball’s dueling vocals still work strangely well together, like a boiling pot of Canned Heat and an unplugged Teenage Fanclub. This is Gomez as we all know them, nothing astoundingly new or inventive, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.
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