Gomez

A New Time

2009-05-11

Honestly, there's not a whole lot not to like from Gomez's latest, A New Tide. One of the major strengths of this album is their ability to mix things up quite literally, utilizing lead vocals from three different front-men - Ben Ottewell, Ian Ball and Tom Gray. Still, it's Ottewell's voice that surfaces the most here. Sounding remarkably like Dave Matthews, Ottewell carries the weight of lead vocals well, especially on the short but sweet "Little Pieces" where he belts: "Pieces falling from me / you can have them for free / I've never felt so complete / pieces falling from me." Some of the best stuff here, though, are when the two others take the reign. For instance, on the well-done opener "Mix," Ian Ball offers a completely different sound vocally while Tom Gray carries the vocals on another equally appealing track, "If I ask nicely." But it gets better, such as on the beautiful and violin backed "Win Park Slope" that even manages to incorporate some electronic elements as well. Another track to check out is the most commercially viable and quite appropriately their first single from this release - "Airstream Driver." Here, it's Ian Ball singing on the percussion heavy pop song that is sure to garner several spins. Overall, while there isn't really any theme musically or even lyrically, what Gomez has created here are songs that are simply a pleasure to listen to.