ARTiST: Robert Gomez
TiTLE: Brand New Towns
LABEL: Bella Union
GENRE: Indie
TiME: 48:31 min
SiZE: 73,2 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Dec-15-2006
RELEASE DATE: Jan-23-2007
WEBSiTE: www.robertgomezmusic.com
Track List:
01. Closer Still 03:40
02. All We Got 04:36
03. The Same Sad Song 04:00
04. Back To Me 04:29
05. Into The Sun 02:28
06. Perfect 04:34
07. If I Could Have You Back 03:45
08. The Coming 00:44
09. The Leaving 04:28
10. Mistress 05:18
11. You Need Somebody 04:36
12. Brand New Towns 05:53
Release Notes:
The small University town of Denton, Texas is
beginning to take on a mystical significance for
Bella Union. We could be forgiven for thinking the
label was based there! Like Saddle CreekÆs local
development of Nebraskan bands, Bella Union has
become home to 5 Denton bands already!
Since 2001, the label has signed the incendiary and
influential space rockers Lift To Experience, the
punk-blues trio Jetscreamer, the unusual and
under-rated Mandarin, and the current darlings of
the UK and European press Midlake.
The addition of Robert Gomez to the Bella Union
stables is compelling as his music is not remotely
connected to any of these artists. His pedigree is,
however. Midlake had mentioned the genius of Robert
back in 2005 and at this yearÆs SXSW festival in
Austin, Simon Raymonde found himself at RobertÆs
show, standing next to a diminutive and pleasantly
scruffy Norah Jones who rather surprisingly was
singing along to all of RobertÆs songs! His
performance at Club de Ville was extraordinary and
before long, to MidlakeÆs huge delight, their best
buddy was now too set to join the ranks of the Bella
Union-Denton set. (note- a documentary film called
This Is Denton, inspired by the music of Lift to
Experience, Midlake, Jetscreamer, Robert etc is
currently being produced)
Robert is a troubadour cut from the darkest cloth,
crafting atmospheres as vast and beautiful as the
midnight Texas sky. Paying no mind to simple genres
on his Bella Union debut, Brand New Towns, Robert
Gomez explores the textures of mood, often finding
his voice in the seemingly saddest spots. He
intones, "If I could have you back, IÆd only break
you", sharing moments familiar to anyone with
longing.
RobertÆs music picks you up in a swirl of majestic
melancholy; cradling you in real emotion. A student
and lover of music since early childhood, Robert
Gomez learned his lessons in expression in locales
as disparate as the snowy sidewalks of New York
City, under the suffocating summer sun of Denton,
Texas, and from the cramped quarters of a swaying
and clattering circus train. He lived and breathed
the circus life for 6 months first with Ringling
Bros and then the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Then he was approached by Middle Eastern musician
Omar Faruk Tekbilek (Turkish) and toured Spain,
Turkey and US playing Avery Fisher Hall in NYC and
Central Park concerts.
He also studied and played Cuban Guitar (Tres) with
Nelson Gonzales, one of THE greats, who currently
plays with Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Cachao,
etc. He was actually recommended, by him, to play
with the famous Cuban Son Group "Septeto Habanero"
for a recent New York Concert. All these experiences
no doubt seeped under the skin and as Robert began
to record these songs, with help at the mixing desk
from Centro-maticÆs Matt Pence, he knew, as did
those keen ears at Bella Union, that he was onto
somethingà.
The resultant album shows that as well as being a
keen observer of love and loss, Gomez also writes
with finesse and restraint, his lyrics delivered in
a hushed croon. His talented crew of players glance
sideways across meandering tempos and towards the
finale, when the curtain will drop on another rainy
afternoon. On these grey days, Gomez provides the
light, in effect "Cutting open the blackest night,
with our eyes opened wide", giving himself wholly
through tune. Aside from leading his award winning
Latin Pimps, and running his Denton-based boutique
label, Basement Front Records, Robert Gomez now
begins another era of travel, presenting his
heartsick melodies to countless Brand New Towns.