The world is divided into those who were on the Gomez train ride since the early 90s and those who hopped on sometime after the new millenium and decided to buy into the misleading sarcasm of "influential pop critics". Blame the British media for being anti-Americanism during the blossoming years of ultra-Anglophilism - the years when anything that didn't sound even remotely British or Britpop-like were deemed rubbish.

Gomez started being experimental and that in itself was a mistake. People laughed when they talked about the varsity union in Whippin' Picadilly. Critics hurled when they heard the David Blaine influenced tunes from Machismo. Nothing Ian Ball & Co. ever did since the beginning of their careers have gone right.

But let's just say that 8 or 9 years on, Gomez is more refreshing and interesting that anything Liam Gallagher can vomit out of his acoustic soul. Britpop is dead, everything that you ever knew about Britpop has been taken underground by Teenage Fanclub. Gomez are still here though, and that in itself speaks volumes.

Perhaps the only mistake Gomez have ever done is to released records at times when different musical mainstreams are taking place. Perhaps they should have released 'How We Operate' back in the guitar heydays of jangly pop. Perhaps Liquid Skin would see better times if they released it now in this electronica frontier. Poor Gomez. Getting their musical timeline all wrong. Let's line them up and have a media cult gathering bonfire Shot Shot.

'How We Operate' is solid, the music is interesting, the singing beats the hell out of Brandon Flowers, the lyrics are fun and keeps you coming back everytime. There's a good balance of loud and quiet, a fusion of charming bits and that's all you really need in an album, right?

There are one or two rubbish tracks (Cry On Demand, haha!) but which album released since 1979 doesn't have a couple of those?

Listen to 'How We Operate' without comparison to any of the band's previous efforts. Don't let critics tell you why you shouldn't like Gomez. Take it for what it is - a genuine guitar-laden pop/rock album with no frills. You'll come to a realization that it's a whole lot better than some of the ambient-laden monochromatic new age junk out there.

I didn't think much of this album the first time I heard it. I thought it was "okay." But, having dusted it off and listened again...what was I thinking when I first heard this? This is really an excellent album, easy to listen to all the way through. Again and again. Love, love, love at second sight!

I've loved Gomez from their first album, but thought they kinda lost their way a little in between, at least for my taste. But this album is by far their best yet, catchy melodies, great lyrics, tight arrangements, and the alternating lead singers keep you guessing. What a great album! I ordered it based on a couple of tracks I heard and loved, now I love the whole album. If you're a Gomez fan, this is the one to have -- if you're new to their music, you will buy everything they've recorded after listening to this one. Good going, guys of Gomez, it's amazing!

If it were only Ben singing, probably would have gotten 5 stars.

I love half this disc; the other half is mediocre. The half I love are all the songs sung by Ben Ottewal. (There is one song that he doesn't lead on that I like fairly well called Charley Patton Songs.)
Ben Ottewal has a deep, gravelly voice similar to David Gray or Tom Waits. His sound lends a more edgy feel to the tunes he sings, such as Chasing Ghosts with Alcohol, See The World, All too Much, How we Operate, and Tear your Love Apart. These all stand up to repeated listening.

However, numbers such as Girlshaped LoveDrug sound like the Beatles but less inventive and annoying. Reminds me of Robbie Williams, even though I can tolerate some Robbie Williams. Ben Ottewal's voice, on the other hand, is singular and shines. Ben's voice suits the music well; that's my opinion.

Gomez has a compelling sound when Ben Ottewal is singing. Try them out for a listen!

Gomez has long been one of my favorite bands around since their stellar debut "Bring It On". They've been very solid since then.

This CD is a little bit softer than previous ones. It's not as rough and bluesy. It has a more polished feel to it. Nonetheless, it still has a bunch of good songs on it.

Gomez has always been good at writing good melodies. "How We Operate" is good, just maybe not as good as their previous stuff. Still you could do a lot worse than buying the new Gomez album. Pick them all up!