Last Week's Listens: José González and Gojira

Over the past week,  I've found myself listening repeatedly to two new singles from two very different--but equally impressive--artists, José González and Gojira.

González, the Argentinian-Swedish indie folk musician, returned with his first new single in several years, (and his first in Spanish), "El Invento".

González describes "El Invento" as a song he wrote around the birth of his daughter, and one which asks the questions, "...who we are, where we're going, and why?"

Like much of his music, the song is pastoral and introspective, with González' skillfully-plucked acoustic guitar playing to delicately spoken vocals.  It's a very poignant and pretty tune that fits right in with much of the artist's previous catalog.  His music always feels calming and complex at the same time.

For me, it brought back memories of seeing him perform live in Chicago back in 2007, and recalling the gentle command he had as a solo performer (You can read my concert review here).

Watch the video for "El Invento" below:

And then...

On the polar opposite side of the musical spectrum, we have the explosive, flying whale-of-a-single from French metal masters, Gojira, called "Born For One Thing".

Gojira have rightfully earned a reputation for effortlessly blending elements of technical, death and thrash metal into a heavy groove.  Having seen them live in 2019, I can attest that Gojira is a band that somehow sounds even heavier and more dialed-in in concert.  

The new single, "Born For One Thing", which dropped last week, has been met with much enthusiasm from fans new and old.  It finds the band picking up where they left off with 2016's crossover success story, Magma.  While some dyed-in-the-wool fans from the band's early days may have feared Magma was veering into mainstream territory, there's no denying the latest single finds the band still in their prime.  

"Born For One Thing" starts with that trademark Gojira build-up before crashing down into intense riffs with surgical precision.  Brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier have an inherent way of clicking together on guitar and drums, respectively, like conjoined twins sharing one musical brain.

Even if metal isn't your thing, I recommend giving Gojira a listen, as they remain one of the tightest, heaviest and most consistent bands in the genre today.

Gojira's forthcoming album, Fortitude, will be released on April 30th, 2021.  Listen to "Born for One Thing" below:

Concert Review: José González @ Park West, Chicago, IL - October 4th, 2007

José González played a captivatingly intimate show at Chicago's historic Park West theatre on October 4th in support of his new album, In Our Nature.

I was excited to hear from my sister last week, who informed me that she had won tickets to the show. Being a longtime José fan who had never seen him live, I quickly seized the opportunity so thoughtfully bestowed upon me.

The venue provided stadium-tiered seating at booths and tables. A mirrorball hung overhead in the domed center of the ceiling. Drinks were served from the full bar at the back of the room; servers weaved in and out of aisles throughout the night, taking orders.

Softspoken Brit James Blackshaw opened the night with a set of four vocalless medleys on his 12-string guitar. Blackshaw showed his acoustic chops with prog-lullabies like "River of Heaven," as eyes slowly drifted shut around the room.

Between acts, the predominantly young-adult audience grew substantially. When chairs ran few, the crowd began to seat themselves on the floor around the stage.

González took the stage by 8:30, setting the tone with "How Low" off his new album. The low notes echoed through the room in deep resonance as the melodies cut with precision. Delicate vocals accompanied his tight fingerpicking with ethereally haunting textures. Every touch rang out with clarity. Sparse words were spoken between songs, as González kept his guitar carefully tuned.

The first notes of his popular single "Heartbeats" were met with heavy applause. A microphone lay at one foot, catching the rhythms of his metronomic toe-tapping. On "All You Deliver," González' thwacked out beats with his thumb between chords, and a shuffling drag of the hand across the strings added an attacking groove to "Down the Line."

González ended the set with his enthralling Massive Attack cover, "Teardrop."

A three song encore was concluded by another cover - an uptempo rendition of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart." With that, González took a quick bow, leaving his guitar onstage to soak up the applause as it sat glowing under the lights.

Set List:

How Low

Hints

Suggestions

Heartbeats (the Knife cover)

All You Deliver

Stay in the Shade

______(?)

Lovestain

Down the Line

Killing for Love

Teardrop (Massive Attack cover)

{Encore}

Deadweight on Velveteen

Crosses

Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover)

___________________________________________________

González was also featured recently on NPR Live, which aired his October 2nd show from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

Click HERE to check out full audio of that performance.

Caught On Tape: José González - "Down the Line"

The new José González album, In Our Nature, came out in the U.S. today.

The Swedish songwriter's sophomore effort includes the single "Down the Line" as well as a cover of Massive Attack's classic, "Teardrop."

In honor of the release, I'm posting the video for "Down the Line," directed by Andreas Nilsson. Nilsson previously worked with Gonzalez' wistful cover of Kylie Minogue's "Hand on Your Heart" in 2006.

Beautifully strange and unsettling, the video follows the self-destructive journey of a pig-faced man (apparently modeled after Jim Woodring's "Manhog Beyond the Face" comics) as he rides around on on a 4-wheeler and strips down naked after setting a car on fire. No, I'm serious.

The Manhog story continues in the video "Killing for Love."

José González is on tour throughout fall 2007.