Gonzo Jones – ‘Misty Dreams’ EP Review
Posted: by Findlay
Melbourne-based Gonzo Jones’ newest EP came to me by chance. Late-running meditation and an accidental click on a link in a feed and here I was. Totally taken in within the first ten seconds. Lazy, cruising, super-chill songs blazing across two planes of existence at once to create a hazy dream in sound. One plane being blazing through a never ending desert in a dusty, beaten old car, t-shirts blowing in the thick winds, saluting at the cactus and faded road signs. The other plane of existence of lying on a roof at night, pointing at the stars, half-drunk, drinking the last beer of the night.
The EP is SO simple sounding but within the simplicity is the sound of someone who has so studiously picked out completely specific sounds on the bass, or an exact element of echo to use on the vocals to provide a pinpoint precise ~feeling~ that you can’t shake. One the bigger picture, it’s an EP full of tasty little electronic pop songs. But drill in further and you’ll find each song is its own microcosm that begs completely different interpretations for each person.
Like “Ride or Die” with its gentle desert-rain guitar sounding like an early Sunday shower, Jones’ vocals trawling across the loose structure so lethargic and carefree. Or “Technicolour” sounding like a swaying, dance with friends in on the grass in the sun, too hot to do it for long, but even resting, the song will have even the slightest of feet taps and fluid nods. Gonzo Jones’ vocals sound like a kind of mash between Stone Roses-era Iain Brown and Chaz Bundick of Toro Y Moi, which believe me, I know sounds bizarre but the thrust it gives these songs is incredible.
This EP might be as much as a surprise for you as it was for me but I can’t get enough of it. Not the EP of the summer, the EP of YOUR summer.
Score: 8/10
