Gomez

Since 2006's How We Operate nearly captured a mainstream audience, it's admirable that Gomez don't shy away from experimentalism on A New Tide. Instead, they eschew a pop bent for the rootsy psychedelics reminiscent of Liquid Skin. The opening pair, "Mix" and "Little Pieces," dovetails the vocals brilliantly, and a guest performance by Broken Social Scene's Amy Millan ("Win Park Slope") is an album-deep highlight. Recorded in disparate studios in the U.S. and U.K., the album's cohesion is largely due to the breezy touch of producer Brian Deck (on loan from Iron & Wine).

A decade ago, Gomez's mix of raw blues rock, tuneful folk pop and trippy effects
suggested a British Wilco. By their 2006 disc How We Operate, the tunefulness had
blossomed, but the noisy experimentalism was mostly gone. Their latest finds messier, more
interesting middle ground. Guitars get impolite; "Bone Tired" lays folksy picking over
digitized rhythms. Elsewhere, gnarly funk breaks and subtly warped jams sprout... More >