AWmusic

Supposedly, he has a new EP out called Live At Park Avenue, and if I had it I would review it. Jose Gonzalez, the Argentine-born Swedish singer, came to my attention, as he did to millions, through his moody interpretations (and perhaps misinterpretations, by some bloggers’ accounts) of classic covers on Youtube. If you’re thinking, “oh no, yet more praise for mashed-up tracks originally by Joy Division,” I would advise exercising patience, holding our breakfasts in our stomachs at least until the end of the article.

A man armed merely with a nylon string guitar, and often covering songs we’ve heard a million times since adolescence, can be appealing for at least two reasons. If not only because the covers are performed with the infusion of a simple, genuine style, then we must consider that all of Gonzalez’s songs carry his signature sadness.

There exists an original strategy to the covers. One would imagine that to try and imitate Karin Dreier Andersson or Liz Fraser (whom I seem to mention every other week) would be a fruitless misadventure, so Jose Gonzalez doesn’t bother. He sings in a range more fitting for the basso-tenor male, and moves with the notes according to a feel all his own, one very different than those in the original Knife and Massive Attack songs. His take on “Heartbeats” was once described by my friend to be “the castrated version” of that track, and while I would make no antithetical Freudian claims, I would say he leeches the melodies and re-presents them denuded of all pretensions, over simple, fluidly plucked classical guitar. It’s not necessarily better or worse, just different, and haunting.

As for the originals, they move with such intensity one wonders why (aside from the obvious attention-seeking/grabbing reasons) he would bother playing anyone’s music. Veneer, his first full album, released in 2003, which incidentally contains the Knife track mentioned above, also has a song called “Hints,” a small, delicate yet somehow incendiary track that broaches the true character of Jose’s voice, its slightly nasal strain and natural dips and bends. The 2:24 may not be enough to justice or convince you, but “Lovestain” and “Crosses,” also on the same album, may do the trick. (Check them out.) His 2007 sophomore effort, In Our Nature, meanwhile, sees the budding songwriter through his course, and recalls his capacity to write evocative lyrics, nestled within well crafted songs and melodies, whether illustrated in the beautiful “Abram” or powerful “Cycling Trivialities.”

I recognize the ostensible ease in picking out a cover and playing a song someone else has written, and reading online, one gets a sense of how much backlash this young man receives for his artistic choices. Nevertheless, I must request that the reader inquire into the quality of such recordings as Chromatics’ cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” or any covers of such classic songs, and compare against Gonzalez’s efforts. If any artist is daring enough compete against the original version of “Teardrop” in efforts to match its emotional depth and complexity, I’d like to know who this person might be, besides the artist in question. Frankly, I’d rather listen to Jose Gonzalez than take the piss out of him.

Jose Gonzalez – Heartbeats
Jose Gonzalez – Hints
Jose Gonzalez – Teardrop
Jose Gonzalez – Love Will Tear Us Apart