Charmed and Strange

Yoav
Verve Forecast

First of all, give this one-man band props for originality. Eschewing the usual (read: dull) singer-songwriter-with-acoustic-guitar routine, this Israeli musician doesn't stop at picking and strumming. All the percussion on this dreamy album comes from his guitar, and he also uses some simple electronic processing to make those strings sigh like synths. The result is both fresh and familiar; without reading the liner notes you might not be able to pinpoint what makes this gently insistent album sound so unusual. Call it acoustic art rock, or roots triphop. Yoav's voice is soft and breathy but has nice range, lifting into falsetto on the slightly eerie "Club Thing" and rasping on the quixotic "There Is Nobody." The lyrics aren't nearly as interesting as the music, so don't listen too closely; just drift away on this comforting wave with fascinating undercurrents.