I’ve been a Jon Gomm fan since first seeing ‘Passionflower‘, and since seeing that video, I have expanded my interest into other forms of freestyle acoustic madness; such as the brilliant Plini, Chris Woods Groove, and John Butler. With songs sounding brilliant on record, it’s understandably more difficult to communicate the intricacies of this genre in a live environment. However, I’m pleased to report that Jon Gomm has succeeded in doing this. The soaring yet raw quality of Gomm’s live vocals compliment his percussive guitar techniques, and my only complaints come after several re-listens and over-excessive pedantry.
There are some moments in the album that perhaps would work better as part of a non-live session. Particularly, the distortion on tracks like Afterglow, whilst innovative – nothing on this album isn’t – might sound crisper on a studio album, and as a result are less awe-inspiring. Also, I find the album in general a little bass heavy. Perhaps this is more a reflection of the listener than the artist, but for me I find the rumbling, atmospheric background bass a tad disconcerting. Nevertheless, the fact that one has to nit-pick to find problems with this album is a testament to its quality. Anyway, that’s the serial nit-picking out the way, allow me to elaborate on the vast majority of this album, which showcases Gomm’s innovation and skill. I’d like to pick out a couple of tracks that really make the point.
Interestingly, the track that had the most impact on me was Gomm’s final track, a cover of Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’. It is with this cover that Gomm’s innovation comes to the fore. His delicate vocals are beautifully performed, and the percussive drumming on the guitar’s body is crisp and incredibly enjoyable to listen to. I’d personally be thrilled if he were to work on a cover album. Not that I don’t enjoy his original work, but I’d like to see songs made… well, better. Perhaps it’s the familiarity of ‘High and Dry’ that allows the listener to fully grasp Jon’s skill when he “Gommizes” a song (you can have that verb for free, Jon), but Gomm’s skill isn’t just apparent on this track.
Another standout track comes in the form of track two, ‘Gloria’. The chords themselves have somehow been injected with a wistfulness, a longing for a time past. However, the delicacy is performed with a kind of unhinged, stream-of-consciousness vocal style that reminds me of a drunk (albeit, a super talented, articulate drunk) lamenting at the bar with a double whiskey on the rocks. Gomm is not afraid to let his vocals run wild, and that merely adds to the effect of the song itself. This song is multi-genre, with hints of a blues influence, as well as acoustic music, and contemporary soft-pop; these influences all combining for a truly memorable effect. Quite how Gomm manages to sing the word “fuck” with such delicacy is a mystery to me.
If you want to get the full effect of Gomm’s work, I’d advise you to listen when it comes out in early September. Like the Devon countryside in which I live, Gomm’s work is best explored with an open heart and a passion for exploring different avenues. I fully recommend it to be worth your time and your money, and with acoustic music being increasingly poached by the mainstream, it’s good to see that independent artists like Jon Gomm are still in the acoustic skunkworks, developing entirely new smorgasbords of musical innovation.
Released 8th September
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