Released: 17/05/10
Columbia Berlin Records




‘Genius’ is surely the most overused term in the music industry.  Of course, it’s down to subjectivity and personal taste- after all, one persons Dylan is another (stupid) persons N-Dubz.  ‘Phenomenon’, though, follows quickly on its coattails in the criminally ubiquitous stakes.  How many times have we heard some new bunch of posh twats peddling  a tweaked style of electro-grot described as a ‘phenomenon’ by the tastemakers, buzz-builders and knob-twiddlers? 

This being the case, it is a pleasure to fall upon an act who add genuine credence to the term ‘phenomenon’, and live up to its heady meaning.  Asaf Avidan and the Mojos hail from Israel, and in their homeland have slowly creeped up the ranks to major league status, winning the award for Best New Israeli Act at the MTV Europe Awards, and recently supported Morrissey when he played there.  Not meaning to sound horribly British, but it's something of a surprise that an Israeli act- albeit one that sings in English- is starting to make itself known around these parts.  That they are doing so whilst flogging a pretty bloody thrilling mix of bluesy-rock, twanging country, indie and heart- scrunching acoustica makes it all the better.  

The Asaf Avidan of the title is a male.  This will take a bit of getting used to; you may well not believe when you listen to The Reckoning.   I know I doubted the PR who told me this originally, and didn’t really believe him until I looked on youtube, but you will just have to put your trust in me (come hither, etc).  Asaf is male.  Why might this surprise you?  Because Asaf sings throughout with the passion, the pain, the kick-you-in-the-tits-this-is-agony vigour of the spurned female blues singer. It is probable that in every review this band ever get that his voice will be compared to Janis Joplin (who, in turn, sounds like a spurned female blues singer), and so it should.  It’s inescapable.  But it is in this feminised voice that much of the appeal of the band lies- it adds extra emotion, vulnerability and a ticker-tugging facet to the slower moments that a normal male pitch could not hope to plunder.  ‘Her Lies’ is a bass driven tale of a man struggling under the weight of his woman’s untruths, and the distorted screams and vocalisations that twist and strain until the whispered conclusion are somehow more powerful with this feminised tone.

Do not confuse vulnerability with weakness, however, as underpinning many of the songs is a steeliness; an acceptance of his situation and the necessity to move on.  Nowhere is this clearer than on final track ‘Of Scorpions and Bells’ which, despite being the kind of low key,  piano-led acoustic number that could tweak the emotional nipple of the most soulless Scouting For Girls fan, is actually positive.  Asaf may implore 'baby I’m leaving/ baby I’m leaving’ over a just-there violin, but it’s a force for good with him leaving this person who’s built ‘bars of love’, and though any human fission is sad and, ultimately, not the ending we have in mind the first time we utter that emotionally-charged, game-changing triumvirate, this is one being driven by the healthy desire to kick on.

It’s not all slow numbers though- ‘Rubberband Girl’ powers along like a good ol’ fashioned indie rock song, clearly Strokes influenced with a blast of feedback at the end.  It’s even got liberal use of ‘woah-oh-oh, woah-oh-oh-‘ harmonies though ‘A phoenix is born’, which follows, ups this ante by having nothing but  ‘oh-oh’s.’  Although ‘Rubberband Girl ‘ is a good tune it does, however, showcase the dodgy lovelorn metaphor-ing that can be found occasionally on the record.  Although I like the song’s central conceit of his girl having a ‘magic rubberband that pulls me back into her hand’, couplets like ‘I got more than she believes/ I got chlorophyll in my leaves’ are pretty awful and should be left firmly in the tear-stained diaries of lusty teenagers.

‘Empty Handed Saturday Blues’ moves even further from folky blues, and jumps cock first into Led Zeppelin screech, with full-throttle guitars at the top of the mix.  ‘Little More Time’ then veers off into a country barn dance, with Asaf’s voice somehow bringing to mind Janis and Dolly Parton having a sing-off for the attentions of some young check-shirted spunk with shiny teeth and a haircut.  Bouncy is the buzzword here, and chugs everything along.  Bouncy is good.

It would be foolish not to mention ‘Ghost Upon The Wall’; the kind of brooding, slow-building number with a breakdown that will have every member of every crowd that sees it momentarily screw up their eyes, point their fingers at the stage and do the knees-bent, shifty-side-to-side dance as they holler back ‘suddenly she says here I am, like a ghost before the wall.’  If you don’t, they’re probably dead inside (or a Scouting For Girls fan).

The measure of a really top album, of course, is legs.  Yes it’s great on the first five, ten, fifteen listens.  But how will it stand up in 6 months? A year? Will the thought of listening to it in 2011 make me throw the CD out the window and reach for Oasis 2.0?  It’s hard to say, but at the moment The Reckoning is an album that ticks all the boxes- its got rock, its got roll, its got quite beautiful moments that make me think about, you know, stuff.   Whether or not these will dull over time it’s impossible to tell, but at the moment the album is more than living up to its grandiose billing.
 



8/10

Posted In Album Reviews, May 15 2010. Words - David