Thursday, February 24, 2011

Yoav - A Foolproof Escape Plan: A captivating 40 minutes worth of imaginative, hypnotising tracks

If you just listened to the dance version of We Are Dancing steadily climbing up 5FM’s chart, you would be forgiven for not giving Yoav a second thought. However, if you were to delve a little deeper and listen to his 2010 release, A Foolproof Escape Plan, in its entirety you would soon be singing his praises. If you were to take it one step further and attend one of his gigs you would be transformed into a bona fide fan, donning a Yoav t-shirt, frothing at the mouth waiting to get his autograph and fainting at seeing him in person.

In all honesty I think We Are Dancing is the worst song on the album, with the rest being streets ahead in terms of beat-induced toe tapping and soulful inspiration. The opening track, Greed, transports you to a dank, dark, dodgy bar in a side street where a man sitting on a rusted paint tin is jamming on his guitar, unaware of the stunned audience he is so intent on his song and so connected to his music. His sound is raw, natural and inviting, his lyrics full of feeling.

As the album progresses, you move from the bar into the streets and join a crowd of supporters following the man as his awe-inspiring, mesmerising beats lead you past those involved in conventional society and out into the sun where you all sit cross-legged on the grass and stare at him as he plays on, swaying to the subtle guitar tweaks flittering over the beat and his honey-like voice. Yoav and his music are one and any listener is soon pulled in by the big beats and delicate additions, hypnotised by it, forgetting the world and escaping to a happier place. A foolproof escape plan indeed.

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