Gomez - How We Operate

There was a time when opening up for the Dave Matthews Band was a gig well-suited for off the beaten path acts capable of hitting audiences from unexpected directions. Those days are too far gone, and now a spot on DMB’s summer ticket is a declaration of a band’s ability to appeal to the masses. Such is the current state of affairs for Gomez, a British outfit that once was the darling of the underground. Now its music can be heard on widely popular network dramas like Grey’s Anatomy – but that’s hardly an indictment of the band’s worth. Gomez boats an eclectic sound that is accessible to folks with a wide array of tastes. Its latest offering, How We Operate, is an impressive showcase of such versatility. It’s a tad poppy throughout, but it’s also got a little twang and a little oomph. The hypnotic guitar driving the intro of “All To Much” could easily fit into a Sergio Leone flick – the song soon eventually morphs into a sugar-sweet ballad well cut out for the adult contemporary listening crowd. “Chasing Girls Around” features a delicious slide guitar, but it gets a little sleepy during the middle stretches. “Woman Man,” the strongest cut on the record, has a delightfully clever ghost-town feel, and shows off what the band can do at its best. For most of the record, Gomez flies above the lame trappings of acoustic college rock. Only on a few occasions do they descend into the dark chasms of cringe-worthy cheesiness – the worst offense is the sassy, “Cry on Demand.” Frankly, sassiness is a characteristic to which no respectable rock band should aspire. “See The World,” a moderately paced ready-for-radio ditty, is infinitely more tolerable. But the stellar moments on this album far outweigh the disappointing ones. It’s a good step forward for a band that clearly is bent on making a power move into the mainstream. [www.gomeztheband.com]