Gomez return with “Split the difference”, their fourth studio album, and what a return it is. Opener ‘Do One’ is typical Gomez, squealing guitars followed by quiet gruff lyrics. The rather jaunty ‘These 3 Sins’ is soaked with southern US bourbon and sunshine.
The relatively average ‘Silence’ precedes the slow-burner ‘Me, You and Everybody’ which would have sat nicely on the ‘Liquid Skin’ album. ‘We don’t know where we’re going’ sends a pulsing guitar strum through alternate speakers which staggers into an amiable dirge.
‘Catch Me Up’ again has that southern state feel, what you’d expect if Supergrass were rednecks. ‘Meet Me In The City’ could be the outcome if The Polyphonic Spree were crammed into the Gomez garage and locked in there for a weekend.
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Album highlight ‘Chicken Out’ has “It’s taking too long/When’s it gonna kick in/and you call this a song” gently whispered before it does ‘kick in’. The smouldering ‘Extra Special Guy’ is another delight.
The album finishes with the very disappointing ‘There It Was’. However the album as a whole is a fine return, possibly their best ‘album’ to date, but lacking any true gems like that of ‘Get Myself Arrested’. Still, can't have everything.
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