Eleven years since winning Britain's prestigious Mercury Awards for their debut album Bring It On, Gomez surprises by not being surprising — and that's a beautiful thing. The original quintet is still together (though they have dispersed from their spawning ground, a coastal town near Liverpool), still building songs that sound improvised until a sense of permanence is attained. Opener "Mix" is bracingly typical, a mélange of styles and sounds, acoustic and electric, and images that can be striking without giving too much away. The song appears to be about hard times and immigration, a disappointed variation on the message of the Statue of Liberty: Instead of "give me your tired, your poor," it's about "Bloodshot eyes on factory floors…the great depressed, the OK, the not sure." Gomez, with their bluesy moods and folk-rock grooves, have always shown their American roots: A New Tide was recorded in Chicago and Charlottesville, Va., produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine). "Airsteam Driver" has an allusion to the sensuous promise of a Las Vegas-area billboard; "Win Park Slope," featuring cello and viola playing a hypnotic background raga, refers to the upwardly mobile neighborhood of bohemian Brooklyn.

The three lead singers that… read more »