GOMEZ at the Phoenix (410 Sherbourne), Sunday (July 17), doors 8 pm. $26. RT, SS, TM. **CANCELLED**
When Gomez won the coveted Mercury Prize in 1998 after a furious record label bidding war, the UK band’s genre-hopping multiple-vocalist approach was considered pretty daring.
In the years since, it’s become so normal that the alternative world has largely forgotten Gomez, though they’ve maintained a solid following. Makes you wonder whether it’s easier to be on the vanguard of new ideas or to have those ideas accepted by critics and the public.
“Strangely, people don’t even question the mixing of genres any more,” drummer/electronics whiz Olly Peacock says from a tour stop in Minneapolis. “Sometimes even we wonder if an idea is too fucked up, but people just dive right into it now without batting an eyelid. Does it make is easier for us? I don’t really know. We’ve always crossed genres on each album, and hopefully that’s still entertaining and surprising to some people.”
Their newest album, Whatever’s On Your Mind (ATO/MapleMusic), is their solidest yet, even if they’re no longer the buzz band of the moment. Back when they were on everyone’s lips, though, they were mystified and overwhelmed by the hype.
“The formation of the band was kind of accidental, and we’ve had to grow and develop in front of everyone. We just made demos for ourselves and friends, and then suddenly there were shitloads of record labels that were somehow convinced we could play our instruments well enough to get signed. It felt like some kind of joke for a long time.”
While other hot bands of the minute often implode before ever making a second album, Gomez have kept the original lineup intact – Peacock, Ian Ball, Ben Ottewell, Tom Gray and Paul Blackburn – which Peacock credits to their close friendships. He says it’s hard to imagine what they’d sound like if one member left, but he’s intrigued by another possibility.
“I really don’t know if we would continue if someone left the band, but it would actually be interesting if we could afford to have a few more members. Maybe someone who was shit-hot on keys, and maybe a couple horn players, too.”
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com
