The well-travelled Yoav has graced us with his new album ‘A Foolproof Escape plan’. The Israeli born, Cape Town raised and now London resident has, as suggested, spent a majority of his years travelling the globe exploring the diverse cultures the world has to offer.
Yoav released his debut LP ‘Charmed & Strange’ in 2008 to widespread acclaim with many high production values adding to an electric influence in numerous ways all written on an acoustic guitar and with the modern software readily available to musicians and producers, with a few pieces of kit, many different sounds were produced to an interesting mix.
The first track ‘Greed’ starts off with a very bluesy influence with a driving drum beat added with the sharp strums of the guitar, something I was not expecting after hearing of Yoav’s earlier stuff. It shows off a very husky nature to his voice with a David Gray natured type of vocal, again not what I was expecting. These elements definitely impressed me as the simplistic nature of the song leads to a very listenable track, a great start.
The next few songs have a much more experimental element to them. It still has a sense of identity that relates to the opening track, but it has the same vibe as ‘The XX’ or an acoustic ‘MGMT’ which was yet another surprise as I made my way through the album. However, the conceptual ideas behind ‘Moonbike’ and ‘Safety In Numbers’ were much better than how they turned out on the CD. They leave you a little underwhelmed and wanting a bit more of a chorus for you to really latch onto the song.
‘Yellowbrite Smile’ follows a similar pattern with an acoustic-experimental feel. In this case, it works a little better than the previous tracks, possibly because of the more listener-friendly melody and the more distinct chorus allowing the listener to really latch onto the song as a whole product rather than a large conceptual idea taking different directions. It is well structured and has a more traditional style of song writing although there are some periods where the experimental side of Yoav comes through. It didn’t work in my opinion on the previous tracks but the experimental nature of ‘Yellowbrite Smile’ is restrained into a way that will give it mainstream appeal.
The experimental theme follows through to song ‘Spidersong’ which definitely has a XX influence with a voice much similar to Jamie. As we move past the tribal influenced ‘Spidersong’, the electronic nature of Yoav’s past seems to come through with track ‘Little Black Box’.
Synths are layered with acoustic guitar added with some other production tricks here and there adding to a song which is one that I was hoping for after first hearing about Yoav. The indie nature of the album so far is still being portrayed by the music, but it is taking different directions with the genre. ‘Spidersong’ reverts to the more stripped back side of indie whereas ‘Little Black Box’ goes to the opposite end of the indie spectrum with it being more layered with the vocals, FX and synth elements.
However, one theme is coming clear as I listen through the album. Yoav has either deliberately or sub consciously been struggling to write a thumping chorus or radio-friendly song. The closest we get to this is the opening track which still is not what you would expect to hear on Radio One on a Sunday evening on the chart show. Every song I am feeling slightly underwhelmed as I do respect the musicianship, I am left wanting a chorus where I can learn the words and sing it like I were at a karaoke night or in the shower. Yoav fails to deliver this throughout the album as I am left a little bit disappointed and i’m sure many people will be in the same boat.
I can’t fault the world travelled Yoav for his pure voice and musicianship. But the album has left me wanting more but not in a positive way. It feels like it is missing two singles which could be heard on the radio or in a club as one for the public to really stand up and take notice of him. At the moment, although he is clearly talented and has the right ideas, the missing chorus’ just put him behind some of the competition.
Stereoboard Album Rating: 6/10
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The first track ‘Greed’ starts off with a very bluesy influence with a driving drum beat added with the sharp strums of the guitar, something I was not expecting after hearing of Yoav’s earlier stuff. It shows off a very husky nature to his voice with a David Gray natured type of vocal, again not what I was expecting. These elements definitely impressed me as the simplistic nature of the song leads to a very listenable track, a great start.
