José González earned himself a lot of fans with his first album, Veneer. Songs from it were placed in TV shows and featured in ads, he appeared on Top of the Pops and played festivals, and became a sought-after guest vocalist for electronic artists (Zero 7, Savath & Savalas, Plan B). His intimate, tender sound featuring just his voice and a skillfully played acoustic guitar struck a chord all around the world. The long lag between the recording of Veneer (which was originally released in Sweden during 2003 and only widely available in 2005) and the release of the follow-up, 2007's In Our Nature, might lead fans to think that time might bring about a change in González's sound. Those fears prove to be groundless. Despite teasing some changes with a fuller, more arranged sound featuring a backing band on the 2006 EP Stay in the Shade, In Our Nature is a near sonic clone of Veneer, right down to the cover of a classic electronica track (this time it's Massive Attack's "Teardrops"). This is great news for people looking for more of the same quiet, stark, but beautiful songs and performances, but if you were looking for some kind of change or progression, you're out of luck unless you listen quite intently and get past the smooth surface. What you'll find are more political lyrics (like on the opening "How Low," which shoots verbal daggers at war-mongering world leaders), more passionate vocals, some more forceful guitar playing, and a general sense of urgency and unease bubbling underneath the prettiness. It may take a few listens before the record reveals itself as a relative cauldron of restrained emotion, but it's worth the effort. Or you could choose to let the moody songs and melancholy atmosphere relax and sooth you. Either way the record is sure to please the fans who latched on to Veneer.
Personally i think this song sounds 10 times better live then from the album!! Jose Gonzalez recently took time to stop at The Interface to perform 4 amazing songs from his new album "In Our Nature" including a cover from Massive Attack "Teardrop".His trademark sound is solo acoustic guitar with soft melody. His work, although mostly original, does include acoustic covers of great hits such as ...
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Insomnia gets a bad rap sometimes. I get so much great music listening done when I should be sleeping. Tonight I made use of my not sleeping by diving into the new Jose Gonzalez record...which you know is good, because Jose comes from Sweden. Sweden = goodThat is one of the simplest equations in all of rock. I have a list of places I want to see before I die...and Sweden is ROCKETING up the cha...
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The orginial has popped up a lot this week and I don't even watch 'House'...
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José González:a little melancholya little upliftinga little mellowa little intenseit's just life, you know?
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Lovely cover of the Massive Attack song by Swedish singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez, who can write pretty damn good songs himself.His high, almost frail voice reminds me a bit of Neil Young, though the timbre is much different.This song is available on Rhapsody but I will continue to upload mp3s independently of that, so users outside of the US can listen. After all the idea of a Swedish artist ...
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Here's Jose Gonzalez, turning Massive Attack's Teardrop into a powerful cover.
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Personally i think this song sounds 10 times better live then from the album!! Jose Gonzalez recently took time to stop at The Interface to perform 4 amazing songs from his new album "In Our Nature" including a cover from Massive Attack "Teardrop".His trademark sound is solo acoustic guitar with soft melody. His work, although mostly original, does include acoustic covers of great hits such as ...
More >
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 "In Our Nature")
