Gomez, A New Tide

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 give Gomez a distinctive musical edge are, as usual, busy being musicianly and refusing the limelight. Even Ben Ottewell, the one with the affable soul growl, charms through his reticence. Whether on "Lost Track" ("your crimes are numerous, but they seem distant and vague"), or on the delicately constructed "Bone Tired," he prefers telling a story to becoming the story. In his banner moment, on "Natural Reaction," he insists, "I need to be invisible," while on the beautiful R.E.M.-inspired "Very Strange," he shouts, "get up, get up, get out," in throaty Michael Stipe style. But he's not singing to an arena full of fans: He's telling a friend to not let the woman in his life walk away.