With unpolished and no-frills production by González in his native Sweden, Vestiges & Claws makes for an organic and raw aural stew. Often more driving than his typical output (“Let It Carry You” being one of his most coolly urgent tunes yet), the album gives newfound prominence to nontraditional percussive sounds and effects, often in the form of staccato clicks, claps, slaps, and snaps. The resulting rhythms can evoke a variety of genres, such as the slight world-music feel to the sublimely radiant “Leaf Off/The Cave”—a track that fits in nicely with understated elements of choro and African blues sprinkled elsewhere throughout the album.
For the most part, however, González’s influences—including retro Britpop, alt-folk, or experimental rock—all blur into one intimate, delicate muddle, a composite too absorbing for the components to draw much individual notice. He achieves this comfortable synthesis with elegant songcraft and a confidently relaxed execution that shines through even his most hushed and gentle cuts (most notably the transcendental “The Forest,” defined by its meandering woodwinds). Assessed independently, Vestiges & Claws’ progressions may be modest, but its adjustments cohere into a record of uncommonly evocative capacity.
