Gomez's recording career began with cobbling 4-track demos in a garage, this led to a signing by Virgin and, subsequently, three self-produced studio albums - Bring It On (Mercury Prize winner 1998), Liquid Skin and Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline (a collection of rarities and b-sides).To compliment a new studio, the five Stockport pals enlisted the production assistance of Tchad Blake (Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Tracy Chapman) for In Our Gun. Sometime afterwards things went wobbly with the emergence of two (unfairly) critically slated and publicly ignored releases - Split the Difference and Out West. Then they got dumped by the record label…
Their latest album, How We Operate, is produced by Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters), and you can't fault the spit and polish on show here. However while the tracks are, for the most part, solid, quality pop with a country/blues twist (Hamoa Beach, See The World), nothing initially blows you away. Gone are the days when Gomez book-ended the afternoon-start and dawn-finish of many a student party. In HWO Ball, Blackburn, Gray, Ottewell and Peacock forego the organic jam quality of former glories (Get Myself Arrested, Whipping Piccadilly, Bring it On) in favour of compact tracks and hybrid tunes. The almost-bland pop of Girlshapedlovedrug is a definite low point; In contrast, Notice, How We Operate, Charlie Patton Songs, Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol and Don't Make Me Laugh are succinctly tailored growers. Some fans will embrace the new material; others will lament the loss of the spiked punch which initially endeared Gomez. Whatever your opinion there is no denying that these guys still have an indefinable something and the new album is a pleasant excursion, with just enough flashes of their exceptional talent to make it appealing. There is no need to write the lads off just yet, but HWO is not so much a big bang comeback, as a breezy return.
