Jose Gonzalez: Veneer

You will have to forgive my lack of accents here, as there should be one over the "e" in Jose and the "a" in Gonzalez. This Argentinian Swede-he lives in Sweden but his parents are from Argentina-has been around for a few years but he has remained relatively unknown on this side of the pond. Jose Gonzalez has met with relative success in the UK, and Zero 7 (another one of my favorite bands) has him singing nearly half the songs on their own album.


Gonzalez's voice is quite voluminous, but yet it has a raspiness to it that reminds me of a Bob Dylan with better vocal chords. And lyrically, he's strong as well. The hit single from his album, Veneer, is titled Crosses which ironically explores the ideas of hope and life (contrary to the connotations of the song title). Take a look at the first verse:

Don't you know that I'll be around to guide you
through your weakest moments
to leave them behind you
Returning nightmares, only shadows
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright, for now.

Zero 7 actually has quite an interesting remix of Crosses, which I'll include for your listening pleasure. I really encourage you to go and buy Jose's new album, and definitely (most definitely) pick up a copy of Zero 7's The Garden.

Listen to Crosses (original).

Listen to Crosses (Zero 7 mix).