The small university town of Denton, Texas is beginning to take on a mystical significance for Bella Union Recordsí Simon Raymonde. We could be forgiven for thinking the label was based there! Like Saddle Creekís local development of Nebraskan bands, Bella Union has become home to 5 Denton bands already, and the signing of young Robert Gomez may well prove to be the most successful.

Since 2001, the label has signed the incendiary and influential space rockers Lift To Experience, the punk-blues trio Jetscreamer, the unusual and under-rated Mandarin, and the current darlings of the UK and European press Midlake. The addition of Robert Gomez to the Bella Union stables is compelling as his music is not remotely connected to any of these artists. His pedigree is, however.

Midlake had mentioned the genius of Robert back in 2005 and at this yearís SXSW festival in Austin, Simon Raymonde found himself at Robertís show, standing next to a diminutive and pleasantly scruffy Norah Jones who rather surprisingly was singing along to all of Robertís songs! His performance at Club de Ville was extraordinary and before long, to Midlakeís huge delight, their best buddy was now too set to join the ranks of the Bella Union-Denton set. (note- a documentary film called This Is Denton, inspired by the music of Lift to Experience, Midlake, Jetscreamer, Robert etc is currently being produced)

Robert is a troubadour cut from the darkest cloth, crafting atmospheres as vast and beautiful as the midnight Texas sky. Paying no mind to simple genres on his Bella Union debut, Brand New Towns, Robert Gomez explores the textures of mood, often finding his voice in the seemingly saddest spots. He intones, ìIf I could have you back, Iíd only break youî, sharing moments familiar to anyone with longing. Robertís music picks you up in a swirl of majestic melancholy; cradling you in real emotion.

A student and lover of music since early childhood, Robert Gomez learned his lessons in expression in locales as disparate as the snowy sidewalks of New York City, under the suffocating summer sun of Denton, Texas, and from the cramped quarters of a swaying and clattering circus train. He lived and breathed the circus life for 6 months first with Ringling Bros and then the famous Barnum