Send "Gomez " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Five musicians, four songwriters, three vocalists – one would think that over the course of nearly a decade and a half the differing creative pulls would have torn Gomez apart already. Yet Whatever’s On Your Mind continues the trend that 2006’s How We Operate started for a band remarkably consistent in its power-pop output: another great record, chock full of five-part harmonies and crunchy guitar melodies considerably brightened up by the band’s trademark eclecticism. It’s this willingness to play with different genres that has served the band well since they took home the Mercury Music Prize with their 1998 debut, but it’s also experimentation that has been considerably softened over time as the group has turned more and more towards “forward-thinking” pop music that tends to occasionally veer towards Dave Matthews Band-inspired adult contemporary. Gomez’s continued growth, then, or lack thereof, is a bit disappointing for a band that once showed so much promise with a bastardized version of Britpop that culled its influences from everything from old delta blues to psychedelic folk to jam band noodling. The essential ingredients are all right there and kicking – Whatever’s On Your Mind evenly splits up vocal duties between Ian Ball and Tom Gray’s more soothing vox and Ben Ottewell’s gravelly howl, and tracks like the complicated pop of “I Will Take You There” and groovy first single “Options” exemplify the best of what make Gomez such an exciting listen, albeit still a defiantly pop outfit. The way instruments drop in and out of the mix, the occasional horn and dub breakdown adding just the right spice to a tune, the fuzzy Sleigh Bells-ish bass thump of “Equalize,” or how “Just As Lost As You” turns a standard power-pop frolic into a surging wave of brass and organ; the band’s songwriting chops have undeniably aged well. If there’s a disappointment here, it’s that the band’s biggest strength in Ottewell’s distinctive pipes has been shackled with more weepy string-laden ballads like the schmaltzy “Our Goodbye” rather than the more in-his-wheelhouse rock of “Equalize.”...full text |
| Consequenceofsound |
| For their latest album, Gomez, like a lot of bands, have gone in with the digital technology crowd; Whatever’s on Your Mind was demoed, and by extension, written, over the Web, each of the members uploading ideas on which the others could reflect. Like any of these projects, then, the question — quite aside from the quality of the music — always seems to come down to the effect this working process had on the sound; surely, given the relative independence of Gomez’s members, and given that they don’t really have a leader but three singers and four songwriters out of five members, this album will deliver a radically different band? Unfortunately, it doesn’t: the working practices might have had some novelty but there isn’t much novelty to Whatever’s On Your Mind. In fact, given that Gomez have been going for 15 years now, it’s a surprise that, as with their other albums, it all sounds much alike. But is it a bad album? Certainly not. Like the rest of the band’s albums released in that time – there’s been seven studio releases, plus two compilations and a live album – it’s fair to say that Whatever’s On Your Mind is strong, listenable, often emotional as well as catchy, and holds up to scrutiny. The album’s opener “Options” is as good of a track as any Gomez have produced, and with nicely unassuming lyrics (“I could settle down, be responsible, be a good man, and learn how to fix things baby, and that’s ok: at least I’ve got options”) and mildly aggressive acoustic guitar work, it succeeds. It may just be the album’s takeaway track. Of course, a Gomez album wouldn’t be complete without the famously raspy vocals of Ben Ottewell, and “Equalize”, a semi-eccentric rocker, more than delivers; so too does the more sentimental, play-a-piano led title track. For sure, as with the band’s albums of yesteryear, Whatever’s on Your Mind has plenty of enjoyable tracks, and none to complain about: “That Wolf” is one of the stronger instances, with “Place and the People” not too far behind....full text |
| Thelineofbestfit |
| Thirteen years ago, Gomez were the hottest of hot properties. Their debut album, Bring It On, had just scooped the 1998 Mercury Music Prize, record sales were booming, and the Southport five-piece were quickly gaining a passionate and wide-reaching fanbase. Liquid Skin, their follow-up, was equally lauded. These two albums, exemplars of late-90s British indie-rock, remain the works for which the band is largely still known. Since then, their records have found mixed success; unfairly abandoned by the so-called ‘alternative’ music press who once championed them, they continue to turn out solid albums and still have a sizeable, devoted following. Whatever’s On Your Mind, the group’s seventh studio release, should do nothing to hurt that rapport, and should also remind everyone of just how good Gomez really are. As is often the case, bands who find early success often struggle to maintain the same level of popularity – Arctic Monkeys’ steep musical decline should offer a potent cautionary tale – but for Gomez it seems to be through little fault of their own. Gripping the nation (and making some strides Stateside) with infectious tracks like ‘Whippin’ Piccadilly’ (Bring It On) and ‘California’ (Liquid Skin), their grasp on stardom has admittedly slipped somewhat, but since those heady days they’ve remained an eminently listenable outfit. Whatever’s On Your Mind contains tunes at least the equal of many of those earlier songs, ‘Just As Lost As You’ and ‘That Wolf’ producing catchy, inventive choruses, closer ‘X-Rays’ combining simple, effective lyrics with an infectious beat to finish the album with a bang. What’s also refreshing to hear, in an age where singers either drastically regionalise or Americanise their singing voices, is that no matter who is on the mic – Ian Ball, Ben Ottewell and Tom Gray all take turns leading and harmonising – they sing with an honesty, an earnestness and a freedom you won’t find in the false Cock-er-ny accents of London indie bands or Manchester acts who sound like Liam Gallagher with the flu....full text |
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