[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vestiges-claws/id933546159″ title=”Vestiges and Claws” text=”Jose Gonzalez – Vestiges and Claws”]
Release Date: 2/16/15
Rating: 9/10
This morning Jose Gonzalez released his third full-length studio album, and it definitely lives up to the hype. Compared to his previous work, this might sound a bit beefed up for seasoned listeners (we’re talking multiple instruments here), but this is undoubtedly the same Jose Gonzalez we’ve come to love.
Gonzalez’ parents fled Argentina in 1976 at the beginning of the “Dirty War” and took refuge in Sweden, where Gonzalez was born two years later. Growing up in a Latin community certainly had an effect on Jose, and when asked to name his largest influences in an interview with the Telegraph, he named Silvio Rodriguez, Mercedes Sosa, the Misfits, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. So while Gonzalez may technically be classified as a Swedish indie-folk artist, it would be impossible to describe his music without mentioning this heavy influence that runs throughout it.
In that same interview, Gonzalez named “[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vestiges-claws/id933546159″ title=”Vestiges and Claws” text=”Open Book”]” as his favorite song off Vestiges and Claws. He said that he “was thinking about people who have relationships that end, or people who have died, and [he] felt it would be the type of song with the type of lyric that helps you move on.” He certainly achieves his goal with the final lines:
“But the memories remain
yet the scars don’t feel the same
filling pages one by one
in the warmth of other suns”
Other tracks to look out for on this latest release are the opening track “[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vestiges-claws/id933546159″ title=”Vestiges and Claws” text=”With The Ink of a Ghost”]”, “[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vestiges-claws/id933546159″ title=”Vestiges and Claws” text=”Stores We Build, Stores We Tell”]”, and “[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vestiges-claws/id933546159″ title=”Vestiges and Claws” text=”Leaf Off/The Cave”]”.
Also be sure to check out this music video for “Leaf Off/The Cave”.
Overall, [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vestiges-claws/id933546159″ title=”Vestiges and Claws” text=”Vestiges and Claws”] is a very solid release from Gonzalez. It shows his development as an artist without totally coming out of left field. In other words, don’t be afraid to play this album on shuffle mixed in with his earlier releases.
Rating: 9/10