Veneer

Limited vinyl LP pressing. Twenty-six-year-old Gothenburg resident José González makes a little go a long way. Armed with just a dexterously plucked Spanish guitar and his own warm but clipped vocals he paints intimate portraits that sound like classics from a golden singer/songwriting yesteryear. Of Argentinean descent, González counts bossa nova and Joy Division among his influences, and sure enough, stately, quietly expansive songs like Heartbeats and Hints are equal parts Latin passion and gothic introspection. The lilting Stay in the Shade, meanwhile, sounds like a luminous Nick Drake outtake. No mean achievement.