Yoav (Brighton)

The sparse turnout at tonight’s show belies the quality of Israel-born, Cape Town-raised singer-songwriter Yoav’s performance. A beguiling blend of confessional acoustic balladry, euphoric dance beats and Middle-Eastern atmospherics, Yoav himself comes across as somewhere between Michael Jackson and Eric Clapton.

Almost falsetto vocals somehow work brilliantly with virtuoso guitar and the added vulnerability that intermittent silence lends the heartfelt lyrics. Every sound created comes from just one man’s voice and acoustic guitar, as r ‘n’ b and trance beats invade the territory normally set aside for drab folk storytelling.

Polite claps soon become rapturous applause, richly deserved. Aside from the moody statement of intent that is ‘Club Thing’, the highpoint is a courageous first live outing for a version of Radiohead’s 'Kid A' classic ‘Idioteque’. It’s a bold move, translating ambient electro bleeps to string-twiddling, but one that pays off in spades.

Though obviously talented, Yoav seems a little nervous, with crowd banter kept to a minimum as he concentrates on his craft. Vocals waver slightly, though this contributes to the music’s sometimes mellifluously complex feel. Tight, inventive and, most of all, idiosyncratic in the best possible way, this is everything forward-thinking music should be. Whether or not the undemanding majority will ‘get it’ remains to be seen, but on the strength of this set, Yoav is clearly onto something special.

Barfly, Brighton, 17th April 2008.

Written by Nick Aldwinckle.