Jose Gonzalez plays ruminative acoustic music. You can call it indie folk-pop, maybe. His fingerpicking style and hushed approach bring to mind Nick Drake. The Argentinian-Swedish Gonzalez seems to like the EP format, having released around 10 of those, as compared to his three full-length albums.
Gonzalez’s latest (an EP with the Brite Lites) has typical flashes of gentle bossa nova and vaguely West African-style polyrhythmic patterns on the guitar, with the addition of layered vocal harmonies. Gonzalez sings stark truths whose punch is increased by a philosophical bent.
“What’s the point if you hate, die and kill for love?” And on “Afterglow,” he sings “All of this will be gone someday,” over cycling guitar patterns.
Loss and impermanence are recurring themes for Gonzalez, but there’s a warmth and stoic charm to his lovely music. See Jose Gonzalez at College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven, on Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. $35 to $40. collegestreetmusichall.com.
