I was handed this CD with a ‘Give this a twirl’ from my son. A quick search on the Internet revealed that Gonzalez is twenty-six years of age, has Argentinean parents and was brought up in Sweden. The sparse album sleeve notes revealed that VENEER was actually released over two years ago, and immediately I thought of Damien Rice and David Gray whose albums also took some time to embed themselves into the UK market. VENEER is the equal to both those major-selling albums, and is very beautiful.

Opening track Slow Moves, like all the album tracks, is a stripped-down song boasting just a guitar and voice. It’s an understated beauty with beguiling melody, expressive but relaxed voice, and acoustic guitar backdrop that provides a fundamental element to the music’s vibe. Next track Remain betrays the singer’s roots with the guitar’s Latin sound. Gonzalez has been compared to both Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, and with some justification. The greatest difference is the singer’s strong reliance on guitar chords to amplify the highly emotive ambience of his songs. Deadweight On Velveteen is a prime example of this as the instrument opens the song and weaves in and out of the vocal with major affect. Hints pushes the singer’s voice to the forefront, however, the guitar sways in and out (with some extended passages) to add drama and depth to the song.

In my experience of listening to singer/songwriters which have emerged in recent years Gonzalez is the one most likely to enamour Elliott and Drake fans. But with extraordinary guitar play, Gonzalez adds a further compelling dimension. VENEER is the sort of album that can be put on repeat play with little effort, and within the folk/pop genre it’s the best I’ve heard in some time. Essential.

5/5