Gomez
Split the Difference
(Virgin)
First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2004, Volume 11, #7
Written by John Metzger
The pairing of Gomez with producer Tchad Blake is a natural union that
provides plenty of fodder for the band’s experimental tendencies, though not
quite in the manner in which one would expect. Rather than build upon the
electronic textures of its previous effort In Our Gun (or, for that
matter, the surreal soundscapes for which Blake is known), Gomez turned its
fourth studio outing Split the Difference into a psychedelic fusion of
garage rock and Britpop that succeeds where many artists in both genres recently
have failed. Given the group features a trio of songwriters, there
understandably is a wealth of ideas drifting through the collection’s disparate
tracks, and as a result, the first half of the album is nothing short of
stellar. The opening Do One breaks into a thunderous roar of guitars,
drums, and bass before Ben Ottewell hazily emotes in his finest Eddie Vedder
voice, while on Me, You, and Everybody the group visits with Pearl Jam’s
organic, folk-oriented side. Elsewhere, the harsh, edgy, elastic march of We
Don’t Know Where We’re Going recalls Nirvana on an acid trip; Catch Me Up
fuses Phantom Planet with Oasis; and tunes like the burbling beats of These 3
Sins, the freak-out blitz of shrapnel that is Silence, and the
dreamy, string-laden Sweet Virginia respectively tap into the
sun-splashed pop of The Las, Super Furry Animals, and Travis. Indeed, the
entirety of Split the Difference is colored with the sort of infectious
melodies, stunning harmonies, and intricate flourishes that made The Beatles so
special, and although the album falters somewhat in its latter portions —
largely because Gomez recycles a few too many of the concepts it unveiled
earlier in the set — it’s still a groovy song cycle worthy of far more attention
than it’s likely to receive. 
½
Of Further Interest...
Split the Difference is available from Barnes & Noble.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004 The Music Box