Robert Gomez
Closer Still
Bella Union
Robert Gomez is a singer songwriter from Denton, Texas. There must be something in the water there, as Gomez is the 5th Denton signing to London's Bella Union Records - following on from Life To Experiance, Jetscreamer, Mandarin and Midlake, who he supported in London in last month.
Title track Closer Still uses a punchy, driving bass line which fills out with strings and even a bit of brass to end up as a rich, textured epic. Gomez' low voice has a smoky, restrained power to it - and the arrangements of tracks like She's A Dog often bring to mind 70's Tom Waits. Pretty much every instrument you can imagine pops up somewhere - strings, brass, even a Xylophone, and while that adds a lot to the sound, occasionally the arrangements seem too large for Gomez' voice.
Shaky Tom Waits comparisons aside, Gomez' sound and voice are best compared to indie veteran Elliot Smith, and his distinctive voice works just as easily with sparse arrangements such as the closer When They Were So Brave, although the less distinguished Stuck Inside provides a hesitant note that sometimes sparse just isn't enough.
There's range and breadth in the song writing here, and Closer Still provides a tasty taste of what we can expect when new album Brand New Towns arrives in January 2007.
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1st Dec 2006 - Tumblr
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