Rolling back the years and as good as ever

Gomez, Tramshed, Cardiff ★★★★★

TWENTY years after their Mercury Prize debut album Bring It On, the everpresent but undervalued Gomez rolled back the years to celebrate its anniversary.

The Southport quintet came to the stage to raptures of applause and cheers and it was obvious to see the band were preaching to the converted, myself included.

After launching into Bring It On opener Get Miles, with its electronic groove pulsing through the Tramshed, the band proceeded to play the entirety of the album.

Whippin’ Piccadilly, which tells the story of Gomez’s student days and of a trip from Sheffield to Manchester, was an early highlight with singer and guitarist Ian Ball performing with a grin smacked on his face.

The band’s skin-tight simpatico saw them run through acoustic ballads like Make No Sound, Tijuana Lady and Free to Run which seamlessly morphed into stomping singalongs like 78 Stone Wabble, Here Comes the Breeze and the call to arms Get Myself Arrested with a stunning drum solo from Olly Peacock.

The first part of the set came to an end with Bring It On closer Rie’s Car, which saw Ben Ottewell’s guitar producing feedback which purred like an engine.

The rest of the set saw Gomez delve into their back catalogue, but the majority of tracks came from the Liquid Skin EP including the “power-ballad” We Haven’t Turned Around, the bossa nova tinged Blue Moon Rising, the rocking Bring It On (confusingly not on the similarly titled album) and the superb Revolutionary Kind.

The show ended where it began with a “turbo” version of Whippin’ Piccadilly, with Tom Gray inviting the audience to “act like you did when you were 20”.

Gomez’s strength lies with their three competent frontmen in Ottewell, Ball and Gray, and their ability to adapt, with band members frequently swapping instruments, but most of all their strength lies in their songs and after 20 years which has seen a whole world change, they still sound as good as ever.