When a British band wins England’s coveted Mercury Music Prize its first time out of the gate, you’d think there’d be nowhere else for said band to go but downhill. Or, alternatively, slowly but steadily conquer the rest of the world one record and tour at a time. Fortunately, Southport, England’s Gomez opted for the second option. After scoring the Mercury for its aptly titled 1998 debut, Bring It On, the quintet put the laurel aside and marched on with a steady stream of releases (including Liquid Skin, In Our Gun, How We Operate and this spring’s A New Tide) that found it continuing to expand upon its imaginative mix of blues, folk, rock and even electronica. And though mainstream America got its first taste of the group via a cover of the Beatles’ “Getting Better” in a TV commercial, Gomez’s richly organic sound (created by three singer/guitarists, Ian Ball, Ben Ottewell and Tom Gray, and the rhythm section of bassist Paul Blackburn and drummer Olly Peacock) doesn’t evoke the Fab Four so much as a 21st century version of The Band.
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