Review
Jose Gonzalez' New Release
- Author:
- Review Date:
- 09/24/2007
Let’s just get this out of the way: Jose Gonzalez rips up the acoustic guitar. Whatever else you want to say about Sweden’s mellow singer/songwriter, he makes his wooden axe sing. Whether he’s tossing frills, droning bass notes, or even finger-picking throwaway melodies, the guitar is raw, unpolished, and beautifully haunting. Each track winds up flossing a kind of “Yeah, I did that in one take; what about it?” vibe.
Soundtrack of Your Life Scene #46: You’re seventeen and sitting on the porch. He’s coming over and life doesn’t seem to make sense but you’re pretty sure he’ll understand.
That was how Veneer, Jose Gonzalez’ 2005 debut sounded. The centerpiece was his sparse cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats.”
Soundtrack of Your Life Scene #49: You’re still seventeen and you’re back on the porch. He’s coming over and life still doesn’t seem to make sense because of all the crazy stuff going on in the world and you’re sick of his crap and this time you’re going to let him know it.
Welcome to In Our Nature’s, Gonzalez’ newest release. Angrier and angstier? Yes. Same approach? Also yes. It clocks in at a brisk 33 minutes, so there’s no fat to speak of. Anchoring the record is Gonzalez’ bare-bones cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.” This track holds the key to the entire album. On the surface it’s sweet, airy, and ethereal, but keep listening and things get intense. About a minute in, Gonzalez begins hammering his open bass string. It warbles and distorts, beckoning the darkness in.
This is In Our Nature’s strength: raw lyrics and instrumentals under pristine double-tracked vocals brandishing chill, downer melodies. ‘You’ve got a heart filled with passion/ Will you let it burn for hate or compassion?’ he asks in “Killing for Love.” In “Down the Line” it’s, ‘Don’t let the darkness eat you up.’ Lines like these used to be the province of hardcore bands (incidentally Gonzalez used to play in one), but are far more compelling here. Still, one can go overboard, as in the chorus to album closer “Cycling Trivialities” (‘So how’s it gonna’ be/ When it all comes down/ To cycling trivialities’). The message is right and the melodies are flawless, but aren’t we laying it on a little thick there?
My major quibble: Jose, would it kill you to add, oh, I don’t know, a piano or a violin or an accordion or anything at all? Minimalism is all well and good, but I can’t help thinking that a tendency to intensify songs and push them could be a subliminal message that it’s time to add a few more crayons to the box. The songwriting is sharp, what might Gonzalez accomplish if he decided to leave the basement and go color with his friends?
In Our Nature’s is out in-stores September 25th, 2007
Soundtrack of Your Life Scene #46: You’re seventeen and sitting on the porch. He’s coming over and life doesn’t seem to make sense but you’re pretty sure he’ll understand.
That was how Veneer, Jose Gonzalez’ 2005 debut sounded. The centerpiece was his sparse cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats.”
Soundtrack of Your Life Scene #49: You’re still seventeen and you’re back on the porch. He’s coming over and life still doesn’t seem to make sense because of all the crazy stuff going on in the world and you’re sick of his crap and this time you’re going to let him know it.
Welcome to In Our Nature’s, Gonzalez’ newest release. Angrier and angstier? Yes. Same approach? Also yes. It clocks in at a brisk 33 minutes, so there’s no fat to speak of. Anchoring the record is Gonzalez’ bare-bones cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.” This track holds the key to the entire album. On the surface it’s sweet, airy, and ethereal, but keep listening and things get intense. About a minute in, Gonzalez begins hammering his open bass string. It warbles and distorts, beckoning the darkness in.
This is In Our Nature’s strength: raw lyrics and instrumentals under pristine double-tracked vocals brandishing chill, downer melodies. ‘You’ve got a heart filled with passion/ Will you let it burn for hate or compassion?’ he asks in “Killing for Love.” In “Down the Line” it’s, ‘Don’t let the darkness eat you up.’ Lines like these used to be the province of hardcore bands (incidentally Gonzalez used to play in one), but are far more compelling here. Still, one can go overboard, as in the chorus to album closer “Cycling Trivialities” (‘So how’s it gonna’ be/ When it all comes down/ To cycling trivialities’). The message is right and the melodies are flawless, but aren’t we laying it on a little thick there?
My major quibble: Jose, would it kill you to add, oh, I don’t know, a piano or a violin or an accordion or anything at all? Minimalism is all well and good, but I can’t help thinking that a tendency to intensify songs and push them could be a subliminal message that it’s time to add a few more crayons to the box. The songwriting is sharp, what might Gonzalez accomplish if he decided to leave the basement and go color with his friends?
In Our Nature’s is out in-stores September 25th, 2007