Swedish-born and of Argentinian-descent, Mute Records' artist José González strums his songs with an impassioned and urgent voice, with an almost methodical approach to his musical themes - be they related to the political, environmental, or simply the poetic. González will be playing Philadelphia this Saturday evening (at World Cafe) as part of his North American tour with Reverb Rock - an organization formed by Guster's lead singer Adam Gardner, and his wife Lauren Sullivan. Among other bands touring "green" this year, are larger players such as; Dave Matthews, Cloud Cult, and Panic at the Disco, but it seems as though the aim is to reach musicians and supporters far and wide.
With González's latest groundbreaking album In Our Nature, songs sweep the listener along gently with simple but strong instrumentation, while thoughtful lyrics embrace each rhythm. José sings with an immediacy on the opening track, "How Low" where he begs, "How low are you willing to go/Before you reach all your selfish goals/ ... Invasion after invasion/This means war" Using simple handclaps, low-bass strumming on his guitar, simple synthesizer, and the lulling sound of his own melodies, he accents standout tracks like "Time to Send Someone Away", and uses his haunting, bittersweet singing and wild poetics on "The Nest" ending with an almost quadraphonic The Who 70s sound to it. His beautiful and original version of Massive Attack's fantastic song "Teardrop" only gives us one more reason to sink into José's brilliant album "In Our Nature" in full, getting lost, and then coming around again to find something new in each of his vibrant tales.
José González Upcoming Tour Dates:
Mar 7 The Tarrytown Music Hall // Tarrytown, NY
Mar 8 World Cafe // Philadelphia, PA
Mar 9 WVU Creative Arts Center // Morgantown, WV
Mar 11 Highline Ballroom // New York, NY
Mar 12 Brooklyn Masonic Temple // Brooklyn, NY
Mar 13 Paradise // Boston, MA
For more upcoming José González dates, click here.
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