Review:

on 2008-03-21 big brekfest Said:

Jose Gonzalez is one of those rare artists whose ability to evoke real emotion; to make an honest to goodness connection with the listener, renders irrelevant the technical weaknesses of his craft. There are no doubt better singers and sharper lyricists within his immediate genre peer group, but few of his contemporaries can put your emotional stability through the grinder with little more than an extra strum of the guitar.

Veneer is full of morose themes and minor chords, but there's something beautifully endearing about the way Gonzalez pulls the melodies through. "Heartbeats," for example, takes The Knife's pithy song about adolescent sexuality and weaves it into a beautiful love song, no doubt ready for to be the closer on a mix tape. "Remain," on the other hand, shows off his multi-cultural background with a distinct Latin rhythm in which he transforms his guitar into a cathartic punching bag wrenching and tearing at the nylon strings by the end of the song.

This is perhaps Gonzalez's greatest strength: his understanding of dynamics and the appropriateness of his style within the context of his songs. Not since Ani DiFranco has folk music seen someone so in tune with their own music.

However, the rest of Veneer isn't always as worthy of praise "Slow Moves" and "Lovestain," while enjoyable, are plagued with insufferable lyrical alliteration. Other tracks such as "Save Your Day," meander about without the thematic movement or resolution or tracks like the intense "Crosses."

It's a shame that Gonzalez is so inconsistent from track to track because when Veneer peaks, he is truly one of the luminaries of modern folk music, one who brings a new perspective to an otherwise vanilla American genre. Jose Gonzalez has a lot of work to do to live up to his lofty potential, but even with its flawed pieces, Gonzalez has done more for the genre with Veneer than most artists can aspire to do in their entire careers.
Rating: 9/10

Review:

on 2007-07-14 lmartini Said:

I’m really glad to see this man getting more attention outside of Europe, he deserves it all and more. He plays the classical guitar wonderfully, “Heartbeats” was a superb cover which sparked many people’s interest after the Sony ad got out thus leading them to seek out his album, and I’m sure they weren’t disappointed with what they found. True the other tracks aren’t as upbeat and lively as “Heartbeats” but how could one not adore this acoustic gem? “Hints” sounds so mournful yet remains one of my favourites, closely followed by “Remain” and “Stay In The Shade” and yes, I’d have to say his voice sets him apart, perhaps not as noticeably so as other indie/folk artists out there, but his smooth blend of soft spoken words and sharp vowels really grip one’s attention.
Rating: 10/10