Jon Gomm is an acoustic singer-songwriter, the obligatory acoustic guitar firmly in hand, so we know exactly what to expect, right: some nice strumming and gentle lilting melancholia. Wrong. Very, very wrong.
To Jon Gomm a guitar is not a guitar, it is a drum kit, bass, weird-synth and, occasionally, a guitar. The array of sounds he gets from this humble instrument seems limitless. First we get some bright sparkling chords. Then the bass enters, stage left, and you wonder how he’s doing both at the same time. Then the drums kick in, strong and vibrant, and any attempts to guess how are pointless and hurt your brain, so you just sit back and enjoy the show. And it is quite a show.
The range of songs on offer is broad. From the epic ballad of love gone awry “Less To You”, featuring lines like “Our fire burns in fits and flashes, smoke and ashes irritating my eyes”. To funk-metal juggernaut “Crazy Johnny”, in which Jon suggests that we “See him up close, let him medicate you, he’ll uncomplicate you”.
The voice that delivers these lines is strong and edgy, and shows more than a little leaning towards the world of rawk. None of this is, musically, the usual fodder of the one-man acoustic performer, and as such it is a breath of fresh air. There are strong melodies, hooky riffs and changing moods throughout, from desolate beauty of "Happy Room" to the frenetic bounciness of "H".
There’s much nodding in the direction of da blues too, with the superb instrumental “Stupid Blues” and a twelve-bar-gone-wrong-with-added-rock-guitar-god-solo in the shape of “Hey Child”, which deals with the suitably dark subject matter of a teenage prostitute. “Swallow You Whole”, on the other hand, is impossible to classify into a genre – shimmering new-age chords and a single repeated lyric “will you be long”, paired with skittering percussion reminiscent of Roni Size, but then taking a left-turn into the eerie folkiness of Nick Drake.
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There are two covers on the album – Bob Marley’s Waiting In Vain (re-titled “Wait In Vain” for some reason) which opens the album (it’s nice enough, but not an opener in my opinion) and the Radiohead singalong number High And Dry, of which Mr. Gomm performs a wonderful version: the backing rolls, breaks and crashes like a loping tide on which his voice sails effortlessly. Better than the original? That’s not for me to say, I’m sure….
The guitar-work is extraordinary throughout, and no doubt this alone will sell many, many copies to six-string enthusiasts, but I would suggest that even if that is not your bag, then there’s plenty here lyrically and melodically to hold your attention. And the detail is is like a Dali – the longer you look the more you see.
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