August 29, 2007

{     José González "Teardrop" (MP3)     }    

José González, a Swedish-born singer-songwriter, first found success in 2003 with the European release of his album Veneer, which subsequently bounded upward with a 2005 release in the UK and finally the States in 2005. A soft singing and strumming soul, delivering epic songs played with a classical guitar approach - his work is a floating carpet ride of ascension over soaring mountain crests and swooping, soft brushes with the tops of golden wheat fields and tall, tall grass. It takes you there.

That said, you may know of González thru his cover of The Knife's "Heartbeats" (yes, HE is covering The Knife, not the other way around), or possibly Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy;. I'm always a sucker for a good cover of an already favorite song, and González is one that consistently delivers. His new album titled In Our Nature brings many, many more beautiful José writings, my favorite being "Down The Line", but the track I want to shine my light on here is his astounding cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop". A notoriously powerful and moving song, originally sung by Elizabeth Fraser (of the Cocteau Twins) for Massive Attack's album Mezzanine, José does it right by me and I think you'll enjoy it as well. Also linked below is my favorite track of his from Veneer, titled "Crosses". Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

     » Teardrop (MP3) - from In Our Nature
     » Crosses (MP3) - from Veneer

     » JoseGonzalez.com
     » Myspace.com/JoseGonzalez