Depeche Mode walks in the door carrying all of their electronic gear and their coolness with them. They move to one side of the room. Behind them stumbles James Blunt. He is carrying his guitar and his commercialized, weepy tunes. He stops and looks across the room at the ‘80s rock legends. They stare for what feels like hours. After a few snide looks, a fight ensues. Pieces of both lay on the floor. There is no obvious winner, nor would the winner be relevant, because this review is not about them. During the rumble in walked London’s Yoav and–being the opportunist that he is–he picked up pieces of the wreckage.
On Charmed and Strange, Yoav puts these puzzle pieces back together and stumbles on a sound that is not all together cheesy and not all together not cheesy.
He does all of this with only an acoustic guitar and some simple affects. His remarkable talent shines through as he creates unique sounds from his guitar. Amazingly, with this simple instrument he brings to mind artists like Depeche Mode, Beck and Bjork.
Actually, the above fight scenario is not how Yoav really found his distinctive sound (that landed him a tour with Tori Amos in 2007). But it might give you a good idea of what to expect when you press play on his debut.
What really happened is that one particular day, Yoav simply decided to merge his musical influences and tastes by banging away electronica and hip hop beats on the body of his acoustic guitar. He found that if he added his vocals and some keenly written songs, he had something special.
And his talent shines through on Charmed and Strange. The problem is that we only get to hear his crowning qualities on select tracks. The sounds that spill out of Yoav, on songs like album opener “Adore, Adore” and “Club Thing,” are darkly and deeply sensuous and, at times, riveting. This ingenuity is missing on other tracks; “Angel and the Animal” and “Sometimes,” for example. These songs seem to slow the album, making it feel a little less full. But do not fret, Charmed and Strange is Yoav’s debut, and therefore it allows for plenty of room for growth. A growth that will hopefully birth more songs like the gorgeous, “Wake Up”; a track that loops a backing vocal (sang through the sound hole of an acoustic guitar) and builds to a climactic, “It’d be OK” vocal line and a hip hop-esque synthesizer breakdown.
The highlight of the album is the closer, “Where is My Mind?” This is a Pixies cover that sounds nothing like the Pixies. It is slowed down and mellowed so that Yoav immediately owns it. The simple fact that this is the record’s highlight not only signifies that there is room for artistic growth, but it also acknowledges Yoav’s talents. Not many can pull off a Pixies cover, let alone make it their own.
Charmed and Strange is a divided album, one part magical and one part ordinary, but it is the magical part that will keep it in your musical rotation for months. It is deserving of this attention. Be assured that Yoav is destined for great things; there is no doubt about it. “Beautiful Lie” has top ten written all over it and promise lines this album. So keep your eye on him; he is not James Blunt and he is not Depeche mode.
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