Veneer - Jose Gonzalez

Advantages: great vocals, great lyrics, great melodies
Disadvantages: not one in my opinion

Jose Gonzalez was born in Gothenburg in 1978, his parents being of latin american origins (Argentina). He released his first album "Veneer" in April 2005 and from this moment on the world of music gained a superb artist. He´s got an intimate style, his songs are slow almost like lullabies, a good way to describe them. He uses a classical guitar in almost all his songs and I have read that he records on basic equipment at home. His sound is quite ...
...listened to a softer voice, it sounds as he was whispering in your ear... His most famous song might be "Heartbeats" as this was the song of the Sony Bravia TV campaign. This song was originally written by a swedish band called The Knife. However, all songs contained in "Veneer" are the same high quality as Heartbeats, if not better still. Here are the tracks of the album: 01. Slow Moves 02. Reamains 03.Lovestain 04.Crosses 05.Heartbeats ... Read review

Advantages: subtle
Disadvantages: maybe too subtle to begin with

Veneer is a strange album. When I first heard it I was fairly non-plussed, it was all very nice but suited background listening rather than any particular attention. The only track that really stood out was ‘Heartbeats’ but only for its familarity due to its use in the Sony Bravia adverts. I didn’t even realise it was a cover by Swedish band ‘The Knives’. And it stayed that way for quite a while, until earlier this year when in the middle of a bad ...
...– I really discovered this album. José González has a strange heritage in as much as he is Swedish born by Argentine parents. The album was originally released in 2003 across Europe and didn’t reach the UK until Spring 2005, I believe it followed later in the year for the states. The sound/style is consistent throughout the album, well-played classicial guitar and soft almost forgettable melodies. That is until you really start listening. At first ... Read review

Advantages: Mellow music, great for the end of a hard days work. Good Debut.
Disadvantages: You must like Indie Rock/Pop.

I like this. I spent my summer listening to Jack Johnson, so you can probably guess where my musical inclinations lie. If Jack was for the Summer, this guy is for the Winter. It is a very intimate guitar album. I drew comparisons with the quieter moments of Jeff Buckley's Grace, based purely on the sound, a sort of hypnotic guitar massage with enough beats to keep you awake. There is one superb track called Heartbeats, it's one of those tracks which ...
...Throughout the album you are certainly sure of Jose Gonazalez's South American roots, the spanish guitar, really all the evidence you need. Always difficult to recommend music, as there is no accounting for taste, but if you like a spanish guitar and guy with soft vocals then this may well be your kinda thing. Although I enjoyed listening to it, there were not enough distinct melodies for me. This album will have it's critics for being too samey. ... Read review