It seems like forever ago when we first heard about the new Ian Ball album, and now it’s here. If you’re a long time fan of Gomez, as most of the people that walk our office hallways are, you’ll be happy to hear that Who Goes There picks up where How We Operate left off. Yeah, its mellow, but what else would you expect from one of the two main Gomez songwriters?
The ballad drenched Who Goes There is chock full of acoustic guitars, keys, the occasional synth and lighthearted vocals. On the sweet “The Elephant Pharmacy” it’s hard not to imagine yourself lying in a sunny countryside pasture with a slight breeze. On “When We Were Cool” Ian uses pitch perfect harmonies to carry the listener on a journey through the song.
Not only does Ian manage to create these dreamy songs solo, but he surrounds himself with some top-notch musicians who add texture and balance to his work as well. Some of them include keyboardist Phil Krohnengold (Ween), drummer Michael Jerome (Pleasure Club, Blind Boys of Alabama) and Will Golden (Gary Jules).
In a time when groups like Band of Horses is on top of the musical world, its nice to hear some other worthy musicians making comparable music out there to spice up the headphones on your iPod.
