Gomez is going to be huge soon, I can pretty much guarantee that. Why? Because they play the type of catchy, inoffensive vaguely rootsy music that college kids (okay, mostly college girls) can’t get enough of. They were already huge in England about eight years ago, but lately the Brits have lost interest, and Gomez have begun to catch on in the States. Their last album, How We Operate, got them halfway there, with “See the World” becoming a minor adult rock hit. Their new album, A New Tide, is poised to go the rest of the distance. This music is immediately accessible, and while it’s not the most thrilling album in the world, it is incredibly consistent. If you like one song here, you’ll probably like all of them.

The band frequently tries to split the difference between Britpop and roots rock (so much so that they released an album called Split The Difference in 2004), but the sound is continuously changing. While their early work was more rock oriented, A New Tide is a more mellow, folk-rock oriented affair. The group opened for Dave Matthews Band last year, and it’s easy to see why. Their sound is like DMB and, though that probably sounds like an insult, these radio-friendly jams work pretty well. “Very Strange” is a fun, upbeat number that sounds a bit like The Fray would if they actually had a personality. It would be a good choice for a single. Also quite good is “Bone Tired,” the most folk-oriented number on here, which sounds like it could’ve appeared on a late-period Byrds album. These songs prove that Gomez is very capable of blending folk and pop music, and they create a very inviting sound by doing so.

Unfortunately, this album has one glaring flaw: at times, it can be very dull. While there are truly bad songs on here, it’s hard to find a great deal of stand-out tracks. Quite often, it’s hard to tell where one song begins and the other ends, and as a result the album is more effective as background music than anything else. The one exception to this rule is “Win Park Slope,” in which vocalist Ian Ball distorts his vocals, and comes off more sinister than he does on the other tracks. The song also features a really cool, ominous guitar tone that gives it a very western feel. This is the album’s shining moment, the rare time in which the band manages to come off as atypical. It’s a welcome break from the monotony of the other tracks.

A New Tide is not a bad album. On the contrary, it’s very consistent, and any one of these tracks could appeal to a wide audience. Unfortunately, the album suffers from tracks that sound too much alike and rarely go anywhere original. You’ve heard this type of music before, and if you didn’t like Gomez before, this definitely won’t change your mind. Still, this will definitely satisfy the group’s diehard fans, and possibly break the band through to the mainstream radio audience. After nearly a decade, the average American should finally be ready for Gomez.