José González
In our nature
Imperial Recordings/Mute
My first listen through "Veneer", I was floored by José González's skill and songwriting abilities... and then much of the glimmer and spark of the music bled out with repeated listening, leaving only a few stragglers still heralding this Swedish talent, and one of those was a cover song. With "In our nature", González crafts every song with the care he took with "Crosses" and his lavish reconstruction of The Knife's "Heartbeats". The delivery is nearly identical to that of "Veneer": lo-fi production, the 'a man and his guitar' approach that garnered so many comparisons to the dearly departed Nick Drake... but, José González has subtly adapted his sound. His stronger songwriting is accompanied by a few overdubbed vocal sections and I'm convinced there's a synth towards the end of "Cycling trivialities" (my favorite track and a powerful closer to this exceptional record). Overall, José González has more than redeemed himself in my eyes - "In our nature" is exceptional and is already at risk of being overplayed as the days grow shorter and cooler, and life slows down in preparation for autumn.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
