Shapes & Shadows
The Age
Friday February 11, 2011
Shapes & Shadows Ben Ottewell (Shock) RATING: 2/5YOU could argue that Gomez was always a bunch of solo artists sharing album space. After auspicious beginnings in 1998, the sound of three or four often wilfully divergent singer-songwriters made for the worst kind of eclecticism, blurring cohesion with results close to nondescript. Ian Ball took his low-key wit and mischief to a likeable solo album a few years ago and now it's Ben Ottewell's turn. His more moody demeanour, throaty warble and acoustic guitar backbone tend towards the American modern-rock model: Neil Young hangs heavy over Blackbird and shades of Eddie Vedder peak to distraction in the cadences of Lightbulbs. There's loads of wistful prettiness, especially between the spare strings of Chose, but likewise plenty that's cliched and cloying. Placed where the decisive centrepiece should be, the motel room melancholy of Chicago is as slow and wet as a muddy river. Ironically, without the balancing levity and chaos of his Gomez buddies, Ottewell's earnest romanticism falls somewhere even farther from memorable.
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