With his new single Crosses, Swedish/Argentinean singer José González sets out to prove that he's not just a one-hit wonder. But Heartbeats is going to be a tough act to follow, especially now that Jack Johnson has sneaked his way into the affections of the summery ballad-buying public.
González's main advantage is that Crosses is a bit more subtle, with gentle strings that remember Nick Drake and don't try too hard to encourage you to do anything other than lie back, close your eyes and feel the sun on your face.
Outside, it's the warmest weekend of the year so far, and this is the perfect weather for listening to Crosses. It conjures up images of summer picnics and lazing on the lawn, or sitting by the riverbank and watching life drift by. There's no real hook though, and whether this will be enough to dominate the charts is debatable. In the meantime it's a pleasant distraction on a spring morning and a good reminder that summer is on the way.
