Gomez - Five Men in a Hut (Singles: 1998-2004) (DVD)
» Gomez - Esplanade Hotel, The, Vic - Tue, January 13
» Gomez announce Australian headline shows - December 11, 2008
» The Great Escape 2007 - Newington Armory, NSW - April 7, 2007
» Southern Roots Festival - Royal Hobart Showgrounds, Tas - April 7, 2007
» Gomez - Tivoli, The, QLD - September 2, 2006
Spanning Target t-shirts to bowler hats, this release covers British rock band Gomez's video history from Bring It On to the underrated Split the Difference. If you are like me and you haven't seen a Gomez video since the Liquid Skin era, this brings you up to date with twelve clips plus some juicy extras.
Highlights include the apocalyptic 'We Haven't Turned Around', 'Bring it On': a humourous safety video spoof, and the stylistically repetitive 'Rhythm and Blues Alibi'. From their rarities album, 'Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline', the clip for 'Machismo' is fine example of amateur video mash up (think Regugitator's 'Song Formerly Known As'). When a band first explodes on the scene, it is seems to be a pattern that only the first few videos clips released are cutting edge or have something to say. This rule holds true for this anthology. Everything from 'Shot Shot' to 'Silence', the later singles, are more run-of-the-mill visual fare. However, a few of these do feature some nice animation.
The extras are book ended by the Electronic Press Kits for their debut album and Split the Difference. The first EPK switches mainly between post-tour chain-smoking Gomez talking on a couch and the lads playing live. They seem tired out after a hectic tour of America and Europe and perhaps a bit unsure of who they are. Six years down the track, the latter features a vastly matured band, being interviewed in civilised surroundings with less banter and more pointed questions regarding the album, tours and their personal lives. Wedged between these are two live selections. One is a two song set circa Bring It On and the second a Liquid Skin showcase featuring four songs. Two of these are unreleased ('Rosemary' and 'The Way You Do The Things You Do'). The sound is average for this set but still a decent representation of Gomez's live finesse. I'm still holding out for a full concert live DVD though.
This collection is probably for fans only, but having said that it is certainly a worth while addition to the collection. To paraphrase John Lee Hooker's cameo, there are no defects in the Gomez back catalogue.
As a sister release to this DVD, EMI have have also released a two CD set of their singles and rarities. Also earlier this year the band released their fifth studio LP, How We Operate. A busy year for this excellent Mercury Prize winning band.
