Jose Gonzalez

The following are only first impressions. Sultry, romantic and a little mysterious, it’s almost as though Jose Gonzalez is subtly teasing the listener to decipher his sentiments. Before and after recourse to the myriad online lyric sites it’s clear that his lyrics are poetic, reflective and at times notably apposite. As others have written, his delivery does echo – just a little – the late, great Nick Drake. Where Drake’s music is sparse like bare trees against a winter sky, González suggests the memory of the day’s heat in a southern Spanish town at dusk. I love the drama and sexiness of the guitar (there’s a wonderful percussive passage at the end of All You Deliver), the sudden flurries of movement, the delicacy and strength of his playing. The tension between Gonzalez’s exhausted, strained voice and the immediacy of the guitar is a key part of the sound, I think. With such a minimal production, little details make big differences: the pitter-patter of handclaps, the analogue sea of hiss that makes a bed for Hints, the mournful trumpet coda on Broken Arrow.

MP3: Jose Gonzalez / Heartbeats