Local Valley
After six years, the Swedish singer-songwriter returns with another soothing album of sweet indie-folk murmurs. Spare electronic beats bring a new pulse to his sound, but the voice remains the same.
Like a morning cup of coffee or a walk through the woods, José González's music brings with it a sense of reassurance and gentle awareness.
Very few artists have been so quietly influential on a whole genre as José González has been to that of folk singer-songwriters.
If indie folk had to be defined by one song and one song only, José González’s cover of “Heartbeats” (originally a mediumistic, Björk-like romp by Swedish duo The Knife) would be a formidable choice to summarize the warm, sleepy nature of the genre. His fourth studio effort, the dynamic Local Valley, is just as calm and enjoyable as one would expect.
Sparse indie-folk singer-songwriter José González is the same as ever on Local Valley – and for the most part, that's a good thing
Even when José González is strumming chords, he holds the spaces between strokes to create drama and nuance. There's always something going on beneath the music.
Local Valley by José González Album review by Brody Kenny. The full-length drops on September 17, via Mute Records and streaming services