Gomez - In Our GunInnocent. Naive. Educated. Stoned. All words that summed up Gomez's debut album "Bring It On" four years ago. It was a musical revolution at the back end of Britpop that although heavily steeped in its influences never developed into the realm of parody. Fused with the Sound of Summer, Camberwell Carrots and yet recorded in a dark and dingy garage in glamorous Southport. Fast forward to 2002 and "Shot Shot" has just been released and its like the past four years have just been autopilot blues.
It was their trademark, the stoner country blues sound, and back in the day it was relevant. "Get Myself Arrested", "78 Stone Wobble" all 60 cigs a day gravel and the stoned ramblings of a spotty student. Nothing revolutionary, but the perfect soundtrack to the Britpop comedown. Last weekend it was revealed that the Queen Mother would regularly do impressions of Ali G as her afterdinner party trick. Its what the old wacky backy has come to nowadays - f**king Ali G and ill informed political debates where middle class liberals debate what the pro's and con's of legalization are.
"Rex Kramer" takes us to a smoky bar in the mid-west. Grabs the acoustic, plugs in the old analogue synths and covers old John Martin songs. Its Gomez 2002 and rather than joining the electroclash movement they've still got their heads firmly stuck in the past. Forget the digital revolution. Gomez are the types that wouldn't know the difference between MP3's and DVD's. They inhabit a world where TV's have 4 channels and Batman still went Perkow, Thwack and crunch. "Detroit Swing 66" knocks us round the head with an intro straight-out of the Prodigy's "Firestarter" before developing into a stop-start disjointed rhythm that came straight from the devils lair, while "Army Dub" mixes Sparks "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" with an Ian Brown dubalicious groove.
In a sense its a return to form for Southport's stoned heroes and a clear sign that band are clearly looking to the future. While at times the more guitar based tracks can appear tired and often retreads old ground covered on "Bring It On" and "Liquid Skin", the more eclectic synth based tracks recall the naive experimentation that excels in the quest for innovation.
Alex McCann
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