Well, here's one you don't read every day around these parts: RIYL Keller Williams, Howie Day. Like eating Dippin' Dots or watching "The Jetsons", listening to the Israeli-born Yoav's debut is akin to experiencing yesterday's future today, in this case, the one-man band running his guitar through a looping delay pedal. But while previous progenitors of this form have come from a singer-songwriter/jam band background, Yoav's hook is that he's a student of dance music, as much of a Björk as a Buckley. And this approach has the potential for admirable results, since it's probably xenophobic and certainly factually incorrect to say that acoustic guitars and repetitive structure aren't conducive to body moving. But at the center of Charmed & Strange is one giant miscalculation-- Yoav is trying to approximate American club music, to become, in his words, a "one-man Timbaland band," a hubristic claim that's almost charmingly naïve, considering even Timbo needs an extra pair of (Danja) handz these days. Regardless of how good this could possibly sound in theory, in practice Charmed & Strange rarely amounts to something much different from that jagweed at your local college watering hole covering "SexyBack" because he thinks it's a total laugh riot.
For all of the melting-pot promise, *Charmed & Strange * feels more like the worst of all worlds summit of songwriter weakness-- Jose Gonzalez's tendency towards sonic similarity without the skill and delicacy, "Punk'd" Justin Timberlake without SNL Justin Timberlake, Dave Matthews' leering lasciviousness without...well, you get the idea. Blame a flawed business plan; no matter how many layers of simulated keyboards or percussion he slathers on, Yoav sounds completely alone at all times; like the acoustic cover of "Boyz In The Hood", a tenuous show of genuine love is inevitably overshadowed by having no real investment in physical place.
Which brings Yoav's voice to the forefront and with it, a subtle twist of obnoxiousness in its sharp falsetto and "Mark E. Smith in da club" inflections. "You'll be nuttin' but a club thing/ What would you say to be paid, to be one of the beautiful?" "Adore, adore/ Kneel down before"-- such is typical of Yoav's lyrical mien, which would be embarrassing enough in its own right, but it's exponentially worse in context of tracks that bear more in common with Nebraska than Ibiza; like so many other facets of Strange & Charmed, Yoav earnestly builds with the wrong set of tools.
Or chalk it up to him yoking this record to one of the worst guitar sounds I've heard in some time, ridding the acoustics of all natural luster and range for the sort of cheap slapback delay familiar to anyone who's purchased a multi-effects processor under serious budget constraints. At least on "Adore Adore", he manages a sort of Kraut-ish trance similar to Iron & Wine's "On Your Wings", but Yoav breaks any sense of placidity with his overwrought accusations. Meanwhile, "One By One" is typical of the record's balance, songs that take too long to screw its way deeper into quicksand. It hints at propulsion, but never takes off because it could really use real drums, not a thumping approximation of them. With both indie and dance embracing a wider range of textures than ever, what sense does it make to limit yourself so severely?
Charmed & Strange ends with a predictably curious cover of "Where Is My Mind," and needless to say, it's no "$20". But even if you thought M.I.A.'s version was genius or merely tacky Pazz & Jop bait, it shows the comparative failure of Yoav's approach, which ignores that interdependence is a more advanced social relation than independence. Even though Maya has an unquestionably individual vision, she has enough confidence to seek out the strengths of others to help her achieve it, whether it's outside collaborators, producers, or samples. Yoav goes about his expecting some sort of kneejerk praise for rolling dolo, but thanks to a total lack of depth, sonic or otherwise, all I see is the gimmicks, the wack lyrics. Shit is depressing.
