Liquid Skin (1999)

THIS is very much a sister album to their debut - the sound is in the same vein and even the covers are similar. First track Hangover blends psychedelia, blues and folk, setting the scene for the record and continuing the grab-bag of American influences heard on their debut - from Tom Waits to Bruce Springsteen. The melodies are cruisey, bluesy and catchy across such tunes as acoustically rockin' mini-epic Bring It On, apocalyptic ballad We Haven't Turned Around, the popular and aptly titled Rhythm & Blues Alibi and the joyously freewheeling funky blues jam Devil Will Ride. Liquid Skin didn't break any new ground but instead consolidated the new ground broken by the genre-blending of their first album.

In Our Gun (2002)

IN the intervening three years, Gomez released a killer collection of b-sides (Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline) and an EP (Machismo). Both pointed toward In Our Gun's increased electronics, sampling, and extended soundscapes. Rock-riff time signature-jumping Shot Shot opened the proceedings but hid the digital vibe that lurked in the rest of the record. It's the canny mix of real instruments, computers and strong songwriting that makes this album so interesting, particularly on lush centrepiece ballad Sound Of Sounds, the perfectly named Army Dub, the unplugged title track, the continent-spanning Drench and the pulsing groove of Detroit Swing 66.

Split The Difference (2004)

THEIR first album using an outside producer (Tchad Blake, who has worked with Elvis Costello, Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Crowded House, Bernard Fanning and more), Split The Difference saw the band rocking like they rarely had before. Blake captured the band's surprisingly powerful live sound and picked an album's worth of mostly upbeat pop-rock numbers from the dozens of tracks recording over the 18 months of studio sessions. One of their best charting albums to date, it contains a brilliant array of songs covering a range of rock idioms that are all as catchy as the flu, including Do One, These Three Sins, Silence, Catch Me Up and Chicken Out. The down-tempo balancer is Sweet Virginia, possibly their most beautiful ballad to date.

How We Operate (2006)

THE last of electronics had all-but disappeared by their fifth album. Producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters) brought Gomez full circle, melding the rocky sound of Split The Difference with the Americana-influenced pop of their first two records. Boppy single Girlshapedlovedrug is their most straight ahead catchy tune to date, while the opening trio of Notice, See The World, and the title track show the band haven't used up all their hooky melodies yet. Country, blues, rock and pop mingle effortlessly across the records, from the quiet-loud heartbreaker Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol to the Doors-meets-Beatles Woman! Man!. How We Operate is further proof Gomez are going strong long after they were written off.