U.K.’s Gomez Belies Its Roots

Gomez is a British band, but its roots-inspired rock sounded so American on Friday at the John Anson Ford Theatre, an unsuspecting listener might have guessed the sextet was from California, or perhaps upstate New York.

Having already conquered its native land with a pair of albums, the low-key young band is poised to continue the grand U.K. tradition of exciting Americans with a fresh spin on our own traditional music. Blending folk, blues, country and rock in dense, often psychedelic, tunes that evoked moods more than they prompted sing-alongs, the show recalled such acts as the Band, Little Feat and early Grateful Dead.

Gomez proved timelessly modern rather than retro, however, and far more engaging live. Its albums flattened and restricted the band’s sound, whereas the concert let songs sprawl seductively. The musicians casually traded instruments, and three different vocalists sang leads and harmonies.

Gomez’s intricate instrumentation and dynamic jamming could easily win over fans of such quasi-contemporaries as the Dave Matthews Band. Yet followers of more straightforward roots-rock could appreciate the way its digressions never spun out of control or meandered aimlessly.