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Liquid Skin

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Liquid Skin
One silhouette of a person laying on the floor while another is walking away
Studio album by
Gomez
Released13 September 1999
RecordedAugust 1998 – June 1999
StudioParr Street, Liverpool; Abbey Road, London
GenreBlues rock
Length55:28
LabelHut (Virgin)
ProducerGomez
Gomez chronology
Bring It On
(1998) 		Liquid Skin
(1999) 		Machismo E.P.
(2000)
Singles from Liquid Skin
  1. "Bring It On"
    Released: June 28, 1999
  2. "Rhythm & Blues Alibi"
    Released: August 30, 1999
  3. "We Haven't Turned Around"
    Released: November 15, 1999

Liquid Skin is the second album by English rock group Gomez, released on 13 September 1999 by Hut Records. Following the release of their debut studio album Bring It On (1998), the band began recording their follow-up between August 1998 and June 1999 at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool, and Abbey Road Studios in London. Gomez were allowed to self-produce the sessions after their label heard the strength of their demos. Described as a blues rock album, Liquid Skin was compared to the work of Beck, the Grateful Dead, and Pearl Jam.

Liquid Skin received generally favourable reviews from critics, many of whom found it to be a retread of Bring It On with improved production. Preceded by a two-month tour of the United States, "Bring It On" was released as the lead single from Liquid Skin on 28 June 1999. Gomez appeared at a number of festivals, prior to the release of the album's second single "Rhythm & Blues Alibi" on 30 August 1999. Coinciding with the release of Liquid Skin, the band embarked on tours of the US and the UK, which were then followed by its third single "We Haven't Turned Around" on 8 November 1999. All three singles reached the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, with "Rhythm & Blues Alibi" peaking the highest at number 18.

Background

[edit]

Gomez released their debut studio album Bring It On in April 1998.[1] It peaked at number 11 in the UK, where it won the Mercury Music Prize.[2][3] All three of its singles charted on the UK Singles Chart, with "Whippin' Piccadilly" reaching the highest at number 35.[3] It was promoted with a tour of the United States supporting Eagle-Eye Cherry.[2]

Based on the strength of the demos the band had made, their label let them self-produce their next album.[4] Sessions for it began at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool in August 1998.[5] By November 1998, the band were working at Abbey Road Studios, where they recorded strings, before moving to a mansion near Hastings. Guitarist Ian Ball said they moved so that they would be able to "recreate the home-recorded sound of the first album, but in grander surroundings".[6][7] They took a break to play a US tour with Mojave 3 in April and May 1999.[8][9][10] Gomez had collectively recorded 32 songs during the recording sessions; they had finished in June 1999.[11][12]

Composition and lyrics

[edit]

Musically, the sound of Liquid Skin has been described as blues rock, rooted in American blues and folk, with elements of art rock and psychedelic music.[13] It has been compared to the work of Pearl Jam (specifically their 1996 album No Code), Beck, and the Grateful Dead.[14][15] Acoustic guitars lead the majority of the songs, which are accompanied by horns, strings, and keyboards.[14] There is a bigger emphasis on vocals and harmonies; in contrast to Bring It On, which typically featured one singer per track, most of the songs on Liquid Skin had all three (Ball, guitarist Tom Gray, and guitarist Ben Ottewell).[5] Ottewell theorised that the band's experience travelling in Australia, Europe and the United States influenced their writing.[16] The album's title went through multiple names – God's Big Spaceship and Touching Up – before settling on Liquid Skin, which was inspired by a product they had found while in the United States.[11][12] They almost called it Liquid State, though Gray said that as a title it was "not as good as 'Liquid Skin'."[17] Ball described it as a "party record", with the "general theme" being "how many different ways we can play the same song in four minutes".[11]

The sitar-driven opening track, "Hangover", deals with love and being drunk, according to Gray.[18][19] It is a delta blues song that opens with Ken Nelson misquoting the opening line from Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979), followed by a loud bassline.[20][21] "Revolutionary Kind" sees the band mix country and techno, recalling the work of Alabama 3.[22] Gray wrote the song in a house on Ash Grove in Leeds; when they were recording it, the hall they were tracking in would burn down frequently.[23][24] "Bring It On", the name of which alludes to the band's debut, includes a reference to that album's opening song, "Get Miles".[25] It ends with a raga rock coda; the song was written around the same time as "Tijuana Lady" (from Bring It On), though was abandoned and left off their debut.[26][27] Gray wrote "Blue Moon Rising" as a reaction to the death of Princess Diana.[28] "Las Vegas Dealer" begins as a psychedelic piece and vocal harmonies in the vein of the Moody Blues, before incorporating Eastern rhythms.[18] Ball said it was written about a drunken night while in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Nuno Bettencourt's father.[29][30]

"We Haven't Turned Around" features cellos; it originally began under the title "Canderel" with a different chorus section.[7][19] "Fill My Cup" transitions over the course of its length from blues to skate metal, with two middle eight sections.[31][32] "Rhythm & Blues Alibi" was written by Ball while attending university; Ottewell saw it as "taking the piss out of R&B music" and "the band and probably me, particularly!". Ball was playing guitar with a Zoom Sampletrak sampler, when Gray suggested using some of the parts from it as the song's bridge section.[33] Gray described the song as being a dig at a lot of "landfill RnB in the late-90s, but we were also saying that we were dicks appropriating black culture".[34] "California" is a slow-building song that incorporates droning, and switches to a boogie; throughout this, the song details escaping California.[19][25] The composition of the song was completed while backstage during a show with Mojave 3 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.[35][36] The closing track, "Devil Will Ride", uses a vocoder and marching band horns, concluding with a Beatlesque fadeout.[37][38] Ball said the song was known under the working title of "God's Big Spaceship".[39]

Release

[edit]

Gomez embarked on a tour of the US in April and May 1999, where they were supported by Mojave 3; they cancelled shows in Europe to focus on the US.[11][40] On 20 June 1999, Liquid Skin was announced for release in three months' time.[12] "Bring It On" was released as the lead single from the album on 28 June 1999.[11] Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Dire Tribe" and "M57", while the second included "Chicken Bones" and "Step Inside".[41][42] They then appeared at the Glastonbury, T in the Park and V Festivals over the next two months.[43] "Rhythm & Blues Alibi" was released as a single on 30 August 1999.[44] Two versions were released on CD: the first with "The Best in Town" and "So", while the second included a "pre-mellotron" version of "Rhythm & Blues Alibi", "ZYX", and a live version of "Tijuana Lady" (under the name "Tijuanalaska").[45][46]

Liquid Skin was released through Hut Records on 13 September 1999; its US release occurred a week later.[47][48] Coinciding with this, the band went on a tour of the US and then the UK in October and November 1999.[47][49] "We Haven't Turned Around" was released as a single on 8 November 1999.[50] Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Flight" and "Rosemary", while the second featured an "X-Ray" version of "We Haven't Turned Around", "Gomez in a Bucket (A Seaside Town Made of Ice Cream, Slowly Melting)", and "Emergency Surgery".[51][52]

"Bring It On" and "We Haven't Turned Around" were included on the band's second compilation album, Five Men in a Hut: A's, B's and Rarities 1998–2004 (2004).[53] Liquid Skin was packaged with Bring It On as a two-CD combo in 2003.[54] The band's first four studio albums and Five Men in a Hut: A's, B's and Rarities 1998–2004, were collected together as 5 Album Set in 2012.[55] Liquid Skin was reissued in 2019 as a two-CD set that included a live show, demos, and alternative versions.[56] Ball had become the band's archivist and helped bring the reissue to fruition.[7] Following this, the band toured across the UK and Australia, where they played the album in its entirety.[57][58]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Alternative Press3/5[59]
Entertainment WeeklyA[60]
The Guardian[61]
Los Angeles Times[62]
NME7/10[31]
PopMatters7.1/10[63]
Q[64]
Rolling Stone[27]
Spin8/10[65]

Liquid Skin was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly noted that the band had been referred to as roots rock, "but one listen to their sophomore CD shows they’re twisting those roots into strange and marvelous shapes".[60] AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine saw the album as a "cleaner, more streamlined version" of Bring It On, adding that they perform music "that they believe to be experimental or rootsy, but not quite going far enough in either direction".[15] NME Piers Martin also found it to be "very much like" their debut, "only bigger, even more confident and with far better production".[31]

Los Angeles Times writer Richard Cromelin said Gomez had "a free-ranging imagination, twisting and distorting and juxtaposing [their songs] with an exhilarating sense of freedom".[62] PopMatters editor Sarah Zupko wrote that band had "picked up a few new studio tricks or two and rounded out their sound with fuller textures and better-produced mixes". She added that the "back-to-the-country-sounding songs" had a "trippy vibe," and were "just as good as ever".[63] In a review for Rolling Stone, journalist Greg Kot wrote that "the arrangements on Liquid Skin are more substantial, beefed up with strings and horns, and the songs sturdier" than those on Bring It On.[27]

"Bring It On" reached number 21 in singles chart. "Rhythm & Blues Alibi" reached number 18. "We Haven't Turned Around" reached number 38.[3] CMJ New Music Report ranked the album at number 13 on their list of the Top 30 Editorial Picks of 1999.[66] PopMatters included it on their Most Memorable Albums of the year list.[38]

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "Hangover"  – 3:27
  2. "Revolutionary Kind"  – 4:32
  3. "Bring It On"  – 4:10
  4. "Blue Moon Rising"  – 4:48
  5. "Las Vegas Dealer"  – 3:55
  6. "We Haven't Turned Around"  – 6:29
  7. "Fill My Cup"  – 4:39
  8. "Rhythm & Blues Alibi"  – 5:03
  9. "Rosalita"  – 4:05
  10. "California"  – 7:24
  11. "Devil Will Ride"  – 6:56

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[75] Platinum 70,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]

Citations

  1. ^ Prato, Greg. "Bring It On – Gomez | Release Info". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Gomez | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Gomez | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  4. ^ Basham, David (29 September 1999). "Gomez On Maintaining Complete Control Over 'Liquid Skin'". MTV. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Gomez – In the studio". Dotmusic. 14 September 1998. Archived from the original on 3 November 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Gomez: Get in the Boat". NME. 17 November 1998. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Millar, Mark (10 July 2019). "Interview: Gomez' Ben Ottewell Talks 20 years of 'Liquid Skin'". Xs Noize. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Tour Dates". Consumable Online. 5 April 1999. Archived from the original on 21 June 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Tour Dates". Consumable Online. 12 April 1999. Archived from the original on 21 June 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Tour Dates". Consumable Online. 26 April 1999. Archived from the original on 18 July 2001. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Sorted Foe E, Whizz, Hash, H, Acid, Ketamine and Viagra". NME. 17 May 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  12. ^ a b c "Gomez Skin Up". NME. 20 June 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  13. ^ Citations for the sound of Liquid Skin:
  14. ^ a b Rusak, Gary (1 October 1999). "Gomez: Liquid Skin". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  15. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Liquid Skin – Gomez | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  16. ^ Thornhill, James (13 October 2019). "Gomez on the 20th Anniversary of 'Liquid Skin'". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Gomez: The Fannish Inquisition". NME. 22 September 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  18. ^ a b Simon, Richard B (4 October 1999). "English Psychedelic-Rockers Gomez Wrap Short U.S. Tour". MTV. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  19. ^ a b c Gulla, Bob. "Review: Liquid Skin". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 6 April 2001. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  20. ^ Ball, Ian (3 June 2020). "Ian Ball on Twitter: '"It's OK, I'll be in a minute" The fabulous Ken Nelson gloriously...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  21. ^ Walsh, John (31 March 2001). "Liquid Skin". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  22. ^ Hinton 2012, p. 735
  23. ^ Gray, Tom (3 June 2020). "Tom Gray on Twitter: 'I started writing Revolutionary Kind in a house on Ash Grove...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  24. ^ Gray, Tom (3 June 2020). "Tom Gray on Twitter: 'So we were recording in this old hall and a lot of it burned...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  25. ^ a b Shoup, Brad. "Gomez: Liquid Skin - Playing God". Stylus. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  26. ^ Ball, Ian (3 June 2020). "Ian Ball on Twitter: 'Looks like this song was written the same week as Tijuana...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  27. ^ a b c Kot, Greg (14 October 1999). "Gomez: Liquid Skin". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  28. ^ Gray, Tom (3 June 2020). "Tom Gray on Twitter: 'I wrote this song in response to the death of Princess Di...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  29. ^ Ball, Ian (3 June 2020). "Ian Ball on Twitter: 'About a pissed evening with Nuno's dad in Las Vegas...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  30. ^ Ottewell, Ben (3 June 2020). "Ben Ottewell on Twitter: 'This song was written about an encounter with Nuno Bettencourts...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  31. ^ a b c Martin, Piers (9 September 1999). "Gomez – Liquid Skin". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  32. ^ Gray, Tom (3 June 2020). "Tom Gray on Twitter: 'A song with two middle eights. Don't do drugs kids...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  33. ^ "How I wrote 'Rhythm & Blues Alibi' by Gomez's Ben Ottewell". Songwriting. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  34. ^ Gray, Tom (3 June 2020). "Tom Gray on Twitter: 'A misunderstood song IMHO. Sure we were having a side...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  35. ^ Ottewell, Ben (3 June 2020). "Ben Ottewell on Twitter: 'This song was finished backstage at the Crocodile Cafe Seattle...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  36. ^ Gomez (3 June 2020). "Gomez on Twitter: 'Yeah, it was definately backstage at the Troubador...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  37. ^ SD (9 September 1999). "Gomez – reviews – 'Liquid Skin'". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on 3 January 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  38. ^ a b Langager, Ross (11 June 2020). "The Most Memorable Albums of 1999 (Part 4)". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  39. ^ Ball, Ian (3 June 2020). "Ian Ball on Twitter: 'This tune was known as God's Big Spaceship up til the last minute...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  40. ^ "Gomez To Tour North America". MTV. 15 March 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  41. ^ "Bring It On" (sleeve). Gomez. Hut/Virgin Records. 1999. HUTCD112/7243 8 95969 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  42. ^ "Bring It On" (sleeve). Gomez. Hut/Virgin Records. 1999. HUTDX112/7243 8 95970 2 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  43. ^ "Gomez Bring It on Again!". NME. 19 April 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  44. ^ "Hot New R&B". NME. 15 June 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  45. ^ "Rhythm & Blues Alibi" (sleeve). Gomez. Hut/Virgin Records. 1999. HUTCD114/724389617726.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  46. ^ "Rhythm & Blues Alibi" (sleeve). Gomez. Hut/Virgin Records. 1999. HUTDX114/724389617825.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  47. ^ a b "Gomez Mariachi Near You". NME. 13 July 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  48. ^ "Gomez Bandages 'Skin' for Second LP". MTV. 18 August 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  49. ^ Basham, David (24 August 1999). "Gomez Brings It on for American Promo Tour". MTV. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  50. ^ "Gomez Not for Turning". NME. 20 September 1999. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  51. ^ "We Haven't Turned Around" (sleeve). Gomez. Hut/Virgin Records. 1999. HUTCD117/724389632323.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  52. ^ "We Haven't Turned Around" (sleeve). Gomez. Hut/Virgin Records. 1999. HUTDX117/724389632521.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  53. ^ Five Men in a Hut: A's, B's and Rarities 1998–2004 (sleeve). Gomez. Hut/Virgin Records. 2006. CDHUTD 87/00946 372061 2 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  54. ^ Liquid Skin / Bring It On (sleeve). Gomez. Virgin/Hut Records. 2003. 8502122.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  55. ^ 5 Album Set (sleeve). Gomez. EMI Records. 2012. 50999 978415 2 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  56. ^ Liquid Skin (sleeve). Gomez. Virgin EMI Records. 2019. 7753419.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  57. ^ Condon, Dan (13 September 2019). "Why Liquid Skin was Gomez at their best – Music Reads – Double J". ABC.net.au. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  58. ^ Pryor, Sally (10 November 2019). "Listening to Gomez' Liquid Skin 20 years on is a real nostalgia trip". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  59. ^ "Gomez: Liquid Skin". Alternative Press. No. 135. October 1999. pp. 100–102.
  60. ^ a b Sinclair, Tom (24 September 1999). "Liquid Skin (Virgin)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  61. ^ Cox, Tom (17 September 1999). "Gomez: Liquid Skin (Hut)". The Guardian.
  62. ^ a b Cromelin, Richard (25 September 1999). "Gomez Imaginatively Avoids Brit-Rock". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  63. ^ a b Zupko, Sarah. "Gomez: Liquid Skin". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 3 April 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  64. ^ "Gomez: Liquid Skin". Q. No. 157. October 1999. pp. 112–113.
  65. ^ Gehr, Richard (November 1999). "Gomez: Liquid Skin". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 11. pp. 191–192. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  66. ^ Sansome ed. 2000, p. 5
  67. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Gomez – Liquid Skin". Hung Medien.
  68. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Gomez". Hung Medien.
  69. ^ "Charts.nz – Gomez – Liquid Skin". Hung Medien.
  70. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Gomez – Liquid Skin". Hung Medien.
  71. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
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  73. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  74. ^ "ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  75. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 December 2021.

Sources

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