Artist: Robert Gomez
Album: Etherville
Bitrate: 223kbps avg
Label: Basement Front Records
Genre: Indie
Size: 88 megs
Playtime: 0h 52min 25sec total
Rip date: 2005-07-19
Store date: 2005-07-12
Track List:
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01. Happiness Today 3:25
02. The Broken 4:23
03. Fast As You Can 3:57
04. I Went Away 5:48
05. Free 5:13
06. Love Song 3:48
07. Nocturne 6:14
08. Lullaby 4:54
09. A Safe Place 3:47
10. Flight 5:51
11. In The End 5:05
Release Notes:
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Thankfully, Robert Gomez is a Texan. Why is this such a blessing? Were he from
the UK, Gomez would be so overhyped that his first solo album,
Etherville,couldn't live up to the praise it deserves. Let the disc spin in your
player for a full week until the effortlessly lush arrangements charm you, but
don't look here for the spicy flavor of Gomez's other band, Latin Pimps, as this
is Elliott Smith and Badly Drawn Boy territory. The album's most consistent
trait is an unrelenting melancholy, and upon repeated listens, the sorrowful
tone proves itself an asset to Etherville. Most troubadours would collapse under
the weight of this much depression, yet Gomez steers it with confidence, and
thick instrumentation adds much-needed texture to his soft vocals. In "Flight,"
he warns, "Don't look down/It only drains you," as a violin and an accordion
invoke an Italian sound suitable for a bittersweet gondola ride. The album's
strongest track, "Happiness Today," finds a tribal beat sliding into a haunting
chorus. So haunting, in fact, that beneath feedback guitars, Norah Jones'
backing vocals sound like she has become a timid stalker when she softly echoes
Gomez: "Looking up, no rain/Can't wash away our frame." Where other
singer-songwriters attempt to preserve a coffeehouse vibe, Gomez confidently
immerses himself in a rich environment--and he sounds that much more
sophisticated for it.