2015’s Vestiges & Claws is Jose Gonzalez’s first self-production and his first to feature all original material. Sessions took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, in his home kitchen and at Svenska Grammofonstudion. Songs are presented in acoustic settings that expand into surprisingly ambitious arrangements with layers of backing and harmony vocals and subtle percussion tracks. The opening songs, “With the Ink of a Ghost” and “Let It Carry You,” indicate how the album will proceed. The gentle stringed accompaniment of “The Forest” and the harmonies and whistling featured on “Open Book” demonstrate the great care that Gonzalez has put into this deceptively subdued album.