José González
Against the Dying of the Light
MUTE
More than three decades after plunging headfirst into life as a musician, there seems to be very little that José González hasn’t accomplished yet. Ever since his early days playing in hardcore-punk bands, the now-47-year-old has made a name for himself as a pillar of the indie-folk movement over the past 20 years with his long-running solo career and his membership within the short-lived yet influential folk-rock group Junip. He won the Music Export Award for sales in 2006 in his homeland of Sweden (I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds pretty cool, right?), and has an ongoing commitment to donate 10 percent of his income to charities fighting extreme poverty. He has a master’s degree in molecular biology and his tender cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats” has nearly matched the success of his Swedish peers’ original recording.
Now, González has added another feather to his proverbial cap (which, given the volume of his hair, surely can’t be comfy on his head). It comes in the form of his fifth studio LP, in which the songwriter dips his toes into the waters of gospel and soul music on standout single “You & We.” Whereas those genres are so often associated with unbridled joy, leave it to González to let them take him into deeply cerebral territory. For fear of ruining the thematic surprise of Against the Dying of the Light—considered to be a companion piece to 2021’s Local Valley—I’ll divulge two concepts González tackles here: game theory and, in his publicly stated words, “dogmatic tribal ideologies.” Needless to say, the transcendent artist gives listeners plenty to chew on with his first record in four years. But have no fear; while the subject matter is equally heavy and heady, González also presents his art with the effervescent, seductive sound that is the strongest through line in his career.
From the weightless beauty of the title track to the Nick Drake–adjacent “A Perfect Storm” to the whispering “Etyd” and experimental “Gymnasten” with its Spanish-language spoken-word samples, González consciously decided to craft a calming soundtrack as he considers the deepest of existential queries. Fitting for the artist who can win the hearts of all but the most hardened cynics, the artist concludes his newest masterpiece with “Joy (Can’t Help but Sing).” The album’s gently reassuring conclusion doesn’t just serve González’s own needs after this draining philosophical exercise—at a harrowing time across the world, he also gifts us with a ray of hope.
