The big question about Gomez is this: how can five young men from Stockport sound like a bunch of old geezers from the Deep South? Whatever the answer, their sunny, lo-fi take on American country rock has made them one of the unlikeliest success stories of the last few years, even winning them the Mercury Music Prize in 1998. Now they've released a collection of radio sessions, b-sides and rarities which ties up the loose ends of their career so far. Although it doesn't gel very well as an album, there's more than enough strong material here to keep fans happy. One to keep the winter blues away.
