I had this major idea
to write about shoegazing and a specific band, Secret Shine, and the ever
wonderful Slow Dive. I still haven't gotten to it. A 2019 goal. But Dean from
Secret Shine told me he listens to alot of Gaz Coombes so I gave the man from
Oxford England a go. he currently lives in the artsy enclave of Brighton, home
to the band Secret Shine and two members of Gomez.
Gaz does not
disappoint. He played in a 90s band Supergrass that I will check out. Now he
goes it alone. 2 LPs down, he has been actively touring to support his latest
"World's Strongest Man".
I checked out the song "Walk
the Walk" and was immediately drawn in to Gaz's world. Relying a
chunky bass line meshing with his mellifluous soothing voice. On this track he
sounds a bit like Thom Yorke and then a bit like Beck. It creates an intriguing
dichotomy. The song, judging from it's lyrics, is political in nature.
But don't get
hypnotized by the lie. It's all gonna crumble under you Llke when the wall came
down. And there were no sides/ (Baby you’re the one who can walk the walk)
The video starts out "Weird times, It's a fantasy." A high stake poker game is going down. A dapper gentleman with tinted expensive glasses. He faces opposite a nervous looking socialite, sipping her tumbler of whiskey. The dealer deals the hand. Cut to: Gaz wearing a fitted white suit, Black v neck t, dark sunglasses, fedora and his trademark side burns. Cool is too mild a word for his look as he lounges in a leather recliner. The woman gets up to refresh her drink and check her phone. The screen splits four ways. It is a slick piece of camera work. It splits even more with the dealer's hand shuffling the deck in one panel, a drink in another, a chips still in another. Another man with a cropped crew cut and shades joins the table. He wins and wins big. The other gentleman gets up and throws a right jab to the winner’s jaw. He is propelled backwards and remains hovering over the ground as the scene is rolling in heavy slow motion. He slams the ground but in the next scene is coming back to the table while the other man smokes a fat cigar. The woman also returns to the scene. A cascade of lighters moves to form a symbol.
The next shot shows Gaz in the bright light of day walking the parameter of a fountain. Toward the end of the classy and well-crafted video which plays a film noir short, it hits me that Gaz's voice most resembles the deft tones of Karl Wallinger, the wonder man behind World Party. Gaz too is a multi-instrumentalist and is capable of creating masterpieces. I like this song for its message and the chill way that Gaz delivers the trippy melodies. Will be digging into more of his work. For now I will be walking my own walk.
Added bonus....
See why Spielberg wanted Gaz to "model" for his brand.
Gaz said "No". He followed it up with the following sage,"in
your face" statement. "Yes, we probably would
have been face down in a pool if we'd
said yes to all that. I mean, our heads would have returned to our shoulders at
some point, but... it felt like cheating. Too easy. Short cut. Y'know? If you
have to do all that to be the biggest band in the world then... then what does
that say about your music? And all that... [the publicity offers] would have
just got in the way of the music. It would have taken so long to get to grips
with. We'd have lost years."[3]
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