The infectious 'Veneer' encapsulates Jose's eclectic influences like Elliot Smith, Joy Division, Nick Drake, Will Oldham, Tim Buckley, and even a hint of Paul Simon. Using just his own dextroulsy finger-picked classical guitar and captivating voice, part Joao Gilberto, part Paul Simon, Jose's music is as econoical as it is seductive. Peace Frog. 2005.
Review by Tim Sendra
Don't let the name fool you; singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez is a Swedish-born and -raised son of Argentine parents. His debut album, Veneer, is a striking collection of hushed and autumnal indie pop bedroom songs that reside on the hi-fi end of the lo-fi spectrum. Gonzalez is definitely a member of the "quiet is the new loud" school as founded by Elliott Smith and the Kings of Convenience. Veneer is about as intimate as they come; it sounds like he is sitting right on the end of your bed singing just for you. At times, Gonzalez is a little more forceful than most of his schoolmates, often working himself into a tightly spinning ball of emotion (as on the driving "Lovestain" and the bluesy "Hints"). At these moments his voice is reminiscent of Mark Kozelek, only without the wild flights of pretension. Mostly though, he is content to cruise along on mellow vocals double-tracked behind gently plucked and strummed acoustic guitars. The beautiful "Heartbeats," "Deadweight on Velveteen," and the gently rollicking "Stay in the Shade" are the high watermarks of a remarkably focused and promising debut. Gonzalez is a welcome addition to the q-school of indie pop.
Jose Gonzalez
Veneer
[Imperial; 2003; r: Hidden Agenda/Parasol; 2005]
Rating: 7.0
It's taken two years for the debut album by singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez (Swedish, obv.) to reach these shores, and it's easy to see what nudged it here. Gonzalez's sparse recordings showcase hushed, double-tracked vocals, haunted imagery, and a clearly gifted classical guitarist. His gripping acoustic cover of countryfolk the Knife's electro-pop "Heartbeats" was even a minor hit in his homeland. An ethereal, sometimes-aloof troubadour, Gonzalez will sing you to sleep and then dash off under cover of night, leaving only cold-sweat nightmares and an unopened bottle of sweet vermouth.
Yup, two years, and on Veneer, Gonzalez suggests he'd kinda like to stick around for a few more. Permanence is a pressing concern: With bongos and a hint of bossa nova, "Remain" emphasizes perseverance, while the scant lyrics of handclap-enhanced "Lovestain" complain of the marks you can't just shout out of you heart, maaan. The arrangements are full of Nick Drake-style open tunings ("Stay in the Shade", in particular, can't escape the shadow of that introvert-folk patron saint) and only a forlorn trumpet on closer "Broken Arrow" disrupting the guit/vox/maybe-tasteful-percussion train to Starbucks-comp paydirt.
As with like-minded songstress Emiliana Torrini, Gonzalez is at his best when he forces a personality onto his faceless raw materials. The distinctive finger-picking on "Crosses", the best original song on the disc, rises like the spires of a Gothic cathedral, giving form to lyrics about a redemptive light in the darkness (any religious inferences, meanwhile, are left entirely to the listener). By comparison, sotto voce opener "Slow Moves" tries a little too hard to sound like its quiet-is-the-new-loud forebears, with a meta-chorus too wispy to hold tight 'til morning: "My moves are slow/ But soon they'll know".
Gonzalez's aforementioned "Heartbeats" cover is nearly as spine-tingling as the original, if not its frenetic Rex the Dog remix. Echoing M. Ward's "Let's Dance", Iron & Wine's "Such Great Heights", and Frente!'s "Bizarre Love Triangle", Gonzalez strips the electro-pop down to an acoustic lullaby, laying bare a powerful melody and deceptively evocative lyrics about love, regret and nostalgia. Gonz?lez has also covered Kylie Minogue's "Hand on Your Heart", and the gulf that remains between these must-hears and his self-composed material is significant. Gonz?lez knows a great song when he hears it, and he plays a mean guitar, but in 2003 he was still more raw than the overseas buzz suggested; Veneer is nice, but it may just scratch the surface.
-Marc Hogan, September 02, 2005
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