Description
Jos Gonzleznever sounds like hes in a hurry. He takes his sweet time both in song and in life: Yet the basic elements of Gonzlezs sound have been more or less preserved in amber since 2003s Veneer:sparse arrangements, intricate acoustic fingerpicking, gently philosophical lyrics, and a plaintive voice thats halfway between a murmur and a croon. Never freaky enough for the freak-folk movement nor chronically chill enough for theJack Johnsondudes, Gonzlez carved out his own niche, imbuing his music with a sense of timelessness thats impervious to trends but also susceptible to a sameness that can be stifling.
Recorded at Gonzlezs bucolic home studio near the Swedish coast,Local Valleybrings no grand reinventions but does gently tweak the songwriters approach and inject a little rhythmic bounce into his songwriting, making for a livelier, more playful album thanVestiges & Claws. The record opens on a sleepy note, with home-recorded birdsong ornamenting the new-age reveries of Visions and guitars rustling like a delicate forest in the hymn-like Horizons. None of the first four songs rise above a pleasant murmur. But somewhere around Head Ona standout track thats as close as Gonzlez gets to a protest song, with stomping handclaps egging on his jabs at corrupt oligarchs and power snatchersLocal Valleypicks up the pace.
Credit: Ian Cohen at Pitchfork
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