José González, Scala

It can be hard to escape the shadow of a breakout song, but José González has done just that. His cover of ‘Heartbeats’, by fellow Swedes The Knife, became ubiquitous following its release, with appearances in adverts, film and television worldwide. The album Veneer, released in Sweden in 2003 but only released in the rest of the world two years later, saw him propelled to the front rank of contemporary singer-songwriters. With an almost skeletal classical guitar style unpinning soft, tenuous, yearning vocals, Veneer became a minimalist folk classic.
But González was not interested in occupying a musical niche, and over the past decade he has worked as frontman of Junip, surrounding his voice and guitar with ornate synthesized orchestration and percussion inspired by the world’s native musical traditions. Now, after an eight-year break from his solo music, González is back with Vestiges and Claws (2015), his first record since 2007’s beauteous In Our Nature. To support Vestiges, González is embarking on an extensive tour, which will stop off in London’s Scala for a single evening. Expect to have your spine-tingled by the music’s serene beauty.
Promising to be fuller, wilder and more eccentric than his previous solo work, Vestiges lays beats and grooves under González’ distinctive voice. But this is no crass movement into rock – inspired by West African desert blues and Brazilian tropicalia, this is still collection of the greatest subtly, with intelligent lyrics and carefully arranged instrumentation. Advance track ‘Every Age’ is a case in point, with the vocals soaring over downcast strumming in a style simultaneously warm and downcast, quiet yet filled with sound. González’s new music sounds both fresh and timeless.