Gomez, In Our Gun (Virgin) 9+
Gomez is a British band in love with American music. It's strange that this would be unusual, given that about every band in the U.K. except the Kinks paid homage to blues and soul in the sixties. Lately, Anglo centrism has come full circle -- the blues sounds once again refreshing. At least on Gomez's In Our Gun it does. The young band was prematurely awarded the Mercury Prize for best U.K. album in 1998 for their debut Bring It On, which was frankly a bit anemic in the songwriting department. Undoubtedly there was something special about the band, with its three distinctly talented vocalists in Ben Otwell, Ian Bull and Tom Gray. Their second effort, Liquid Skin, was unsuccessful, but it showed that Gomez had ambitions to be more than the British North Mississippi All-Stars. The self-produced In Our Gun shows off a sparkling new Gomez, complete with electronic bleeps, gorgeous vocal harmonies, and songs. Real, well-written, memorable songs. "Shot Shot" kicks off the album with bottom-heavy horn charts reminiscent of Morphine and a succinct vocal hook that ends all too quickly. "Detroit Swing 66" does in fact swing, with a vocal style and cadence much like The Beta Band's "Eclipse." "In Our Gun" features the most heavenly harmonizing since The Everly Brothers, or at least The Jayhawks, eventually peaking with a massive riff reminiscent of Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" given the 12" club mix. "Even Song" evokes Pearl Jam, but we'll let it slide for the nice touch of a cool-jazz horn break. So far in four songs Gomez has surpassed the entire output from their first four years. And it gets better. "Ruff Stuff" puts Beck-ish clever wordplay to a mariachi rhythm, and "Army Dub" is an inspired mix of piano-driven dub and layered vocals. Gomez has avoided the rut that traps many pseudo-traditionalists by incorporating more disparate elements into a cohesive whole, tied together by tastefully experimental production.
