In Our Gun - WikiHQ

In Our Gun is the third studio album by English rock band Gomez, released on 18 March 2002 by Hut Records.

Background

Gomez released their second studio album Liquid Skin in September 1999. It peaked at number two in the UK; all three of its singles charted within the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, with "Rhythm & Blues Alibi" reaching the highest at number 18. In April 2000, the band embarked on a UK tour, which was soon followed by stints in Australia, Japan, and the US. Around this time, they released the Machismo E.P., which saw the band explore electronica.

They released the compilation album Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline in September 2000, which was preceded by appearances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. As the band had spent the preceding three years constantly touring, they took six-month break and visited Australia, Cambodia, and Vietnam, before working on their next album. Sessions for the new album were held at Batsford Manor and Real World Studios, where the band and Miti Adhikari handling recording, with assistance from Claire Lewis. The band and Adhikari mixed the recordings at Real World, while Frank Arkwright mastered the album at The Townhouse. with influence from electronica, The album is split into two parts: one centred around acoustic instrumentation, and the other being dance-based. Lewis did extra programming and Dajon Everett provided percussion and celeste throughout the album. Over the course of it, additional musicians appeared on various songs: Tony Robinson with brass on "Shot Shot", trumpet and valve trombone on "Rex Kramer", "Detroit Swing 66" and "Even Song", and organ on "In Our Gun" and "Even Song"; Tony Looby with alto saxophone on "Detroit Swing 66" and "Even Song", and baritone saxophone on "Even Song"; Rob Charles with baritone saxophone on "Detroit Swing 66", and tenor saxophone on "Detroit Swing 66" and "Even Song"; Danny Thompson with double bass on "In Our Gun"; Grace Elison with vocals on "Drench"; and Graham Wakefield with loops on "Rex Kramer", and flange on "In Our Gun". "In Our Gun" begins as an alternative country ballad that shifts into techno-rock in the vein of the Prodigy partway through. "Even Song" is a slow-paced blues song.

"Sound of Sounds" is a ballad that evoked Liquid Skin song "We Haven't Turned Around". The latter was inspired by a newspaper cover that Gray saw, depicting Posh Spice and David Beckham on the cover, "and on the fourth page, it was like, ‘50 killed in . . . ,’ and I said, what kind of universe am I living in here?" It initially began as an acoustic-guitar-and-percussion piece, the tempo of which was sped up after drummer Olly Peacock heard it.

Release

On 3 January 2002, In Our Gun was announced for release in two months' time. "Shot Shot" was released as a single on 4 March 2002. Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Silhouettes" and "Coltrane", while the second featured "Air-Hostess Song" and "Pop Juice". The music video for "Shot Shot" was posted on Dotmusic on 11 March 2002. In Our Gun was released on 18 March 2002 through Hut Records; Australia received a tour edition bonus disc. It was promoted with club nights and listening parties leading up to the release. The album was released in United States on 23 April 2002; 40,000 copies were sent to stores through distributor EMD. That same month, the band embarked on a four-week tour of the UK.

"Sound of Sounds" and "Ping One Down" were released as a Double A-Sided single on 20 May 2002. Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Where Are Your Friends", a live version of "Ping One Down", and the music video for "Sound of Sounds", while the second included "Click Click", an instrumental version of "Sound of Sounds", and the music video for "Ping One Down". The Detroit Swing 66 / Ping One Down EP was released exclusively in Australia on 16 July 2002, consisting of "Detroit Swing 66", "Ping One Down", "Silhouettes", "Coltrane", "Air-Hostess Song", "Pop Juice", and "Click Click". In September and October 2002, the band embarked on a tour of the US. Following this, they went on a UK tour in November and December 2002. In April and May 2003, the band toured the US again, which included an appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Reception

In Our Gun was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 69, based on 18 reviews. AllMusic reviewer Sean Westergaard said the album had "all the elements that made their debut so great, and then some." He explained that the band "cover a lot of musical territory, [...] with all the effortlessness displayed on Bring It On".

Track listing

All songs written by Gomez.

Gomez

Ian Ball – guitar, vocals
Paul Blackburn – bass
Tom Gray – guitar, keyboards, vocals
Ben Ottewell – guitar, vocals
Olly Peacock – drums

Additional musicians

Claire Lewis – extra programming
Dajon Everett – percussion, celeste
Tony Robinson – brass (track 1), trumpet (tracks 2, 3 and 5), valve trombone (tracks 2, 3 and 5), organ (tracks 4 and 5)
Tony Looby – alto saxophone (tracks 3 and 5), baritone saxophone (track 5)
Rob Charles – tenor saxophone (tracks 3 and 5), baritone saxophone (track 3)
Danny Thompson – double bass (track 4)
Grace Ellson – vocals (track 12)
Graham Wakefield – loop (track 2), flange (track 4)

Production and design

Gomez – recording, mixing
Miti Adhikari – recording, mixing
Claire Lewis – assistance
Frank Arkwright – mastering
Jonathan Purday – art
Scarlet Page – original band photography
Love – art direction

References

Citations

Sources

External links

In Our Gun at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)