Tom Gray (Of Gomez)

In his interview last week, Tom Gray, in typically self-effacing form, advised his would-be reviewer to “get drunk and sing really loudly”. As it turned out this wasn’t at all necessary since the “third singer” in Gomez genuinely has a voice you want to hear.

He’s not the sound of Gomez. That’s Ben Ottewell. His rasp is the most instantly recognisable thing about them. It’s so distinctive that you can understand why so many of Gray’s own songs end up not being sung by him on their albums.

Though you can understand why many of them still are. This is only the third time Gray has played solo and, although he won’t admit it, he’s brilliant. There has always been a wistful quality to his delivery, yet with sparse acoustic accompaniment he can really show off how good a voice he has.

From their Mercury Prize winning debut onwards, the inventiveness of Gomez’s record production has been one of their main selling points. What shines through in Gray’s solo show is how well these songs stand up in stripped down form. Outside of the many singalongs of old hits such as ’78 Stone Wobble’ and ‘Get Myself Arrested’, the mid-festival Edinburgh audience were incredibly reverential. They stayed silent during the quieter moments but joined in enthusiastically when required and frequently with the correct harmonies.

Gray insists this is just something he’s trying out and that he doesn’t have plans to play solo in the future. In light of tonight’s reception, perhaps he should reconsider.