So fill my cup, make me happen
Fill it up, make me smile
Fill my cup, give me a reason
A reason to feel alright
It took 317 days before we came to one of my favorite bands of the past decades, give or take about five years, Gomez. This British, indie, multi-instrumentalists, three different lead singers, quintet, is a day at the beach; you know, sun shining warm, water inviting, here comes the breeze, sand in between your toes joy. Having debuted with the ultra-fine “Bring it On,” I first heard of this band around the time of their sophomore effort “Liquid Skin.” Almost immediately I was hooked. “Liquid Skin” is intimate, intriguing, intelligent and impressive. These guys do a pretty good job of taking the layers in their songs and blending them so well that you don’t realize all that is going on behind the scenes. Front and center are the vocalists, Tom Gray, Ben Ottewell and Ian Ball, all offering a different flavor to the mix. Olly Peacock’s drumming and Paul Blackburn’s bass round out the group. Together they shine on this disc.
I have a plethora of favorite tracks on “Liquid Skin.” I’ll start with Las Vegas Dealer. This wonderful deck of cards starts in 5/4, moves through 3/4, explores 11/4, lands back on the 5 and ends in the 3 again. Now that’s a ride I like every time. Revolutionary Kind and Blue Moon Rising are like your favorite pair of boots; you look great in them and your feet are comfortable too. With it’s not too fast tempo, Fill My Cup is deliberate, determined and steadfast. The album opener, Hangover, is light yet chock full of little intricacies if you pay attention. Bring it On has an edge to it that is both smooth and sharp. For some reason, I never really fancied two of the singles from the record, Rhythm and Blues Alibi and We Haven’t Turned it Around as much as the other tracks. Still, today’s surprise was the subtle Rosalita. I had forgotten about that one. The two closers, California and Devil Will Ride are both long, languid and lush. In fact, many a Gomez mix CDs that I have made through the years have started with California. This is not an obvious choice. It seems pretty at home at the end of things. Be that as it may, it does work as a slow building, strong Gomez entrance. Wherever you place the 11 tunes on “Liquid Skin,” they will all play solid and strong.
Although I have fallen off a bit in the past few years, I’ve pretty much been paying attention to these guys for 15 years. Their consistent worthy albums and the variety of creative lens that they look through have made Gomez a constant.
365, Album of the Day 2014 