Gomez
Bring it On
Virgin
The northwest of England seems an unlikely spawning ground for a band whose eclectic sound has more in common with Crosby, Stills, and Nash than Oasis. But try to slap a label on this band or nudge them into the corner of some newfound genre, and you’ll be chasing your tail. The Deja Vu from here says Gomez is a puzzle whose very lack of a solution is the source of its beauty. Tom Gray’s vocals edge into the gravelly emotiveness of Tom Waits on the stunning “Make No Sound.” The song’s refrain: “Said to her/ there’s beauty/ All she sees/ is pain” is an enigma in itself. On the dark and plaintive “78 Stone Wobble,” the familiar analog hiss of vinyl on the turntable precedes a vocal that bursts forth like a post-orgasmic gasp. “Whippin’ Picadilly” bounces along with an infectious silliness while “Tijuana Lady” is lush and surrealistic. Gomez would appear to be operating under some kind of inside enlightenment, similar to what happened to U2 when they discovered acid and recorded the glittering prize of their career, Achtung Baby. As Alec said in A Clockwork Orange, it’s all “Gorgeousness and gorgeosity.” No psychic ability is necessary to predict that Gomez will be huge. With Bring It On, they may well have produced this years’ OK Computer.
