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Rating:
THE REVIEW
I encountered Asaf on the pages of Repubblica in an article at the beginning of the year. My curiosity is piqued, and I delve deeper, as always when it comes to sounds, to music. It's all connected to this track in heavy rotation on all radio frequencies, "One Day," which I then listen to and understand. I had noticed it but didn't know the source.
So I await the imminent release of the new album while watching the video of the single, the title track, a cinematic, dreamy, pulsating, obsessively oneiric track, an arrow to the heart. And then this voice, what an impact! It leaves you in a state of trance, a syncopated overbeauty, a peak, a hanging rock. It resonates like a kiss inside the stomach. There's Billie Holiday or Macy Gray, there's the soul, the rhythm & blues of effective pieces like "Setting Scalpel Free," "Love it or leave it," and "Cyclamen." These are tracks that showcase the eclecticism of this Israeli guy who is a human jukebox. Well-constructed and well-finished tracks. The shadow of Tom Yorke and Radiohead hovers over a slow and dark ballad that develops on the notes of a piano "Thumbtracks In My Marrow," there's Leonard Cohen in abundance in "Conspiratory Visions of Gomorrah," followed by the splendid symphonic airiness of a track like "A choice & a gun," which recalls the best Mercury Rev until it gently closes with a track that slowly winds around the strings of this guy, who might not be a superstar but is an honest craftsman with a voice that is a luxury, a Persian carpet. Here he crafts a highly respectable, focused, refined album, with sounds that are offspring of trip-hop, bringing to light albums like "My beautiful Demon" by the good Ben Christophers.
We have various impulses that drive us, these leave more than just a trace, a marked sign that can last over time. (7)
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Summary by Bot
This review highlights Asaf Avidan’s album Different Pulses as a refined and emotionally impactful work. It praises his unique voice and eclectic mix of styles ranging from soul and R&B to trip-hop and alternative influences. The album’s standout tracks showcase deep musical craftsmanship and lyrical complexity. Overall, it is regarded as an honest and respectable piece of art with lasting emotional traces.Tracklist Videos
Asaf Avidan
Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist. First gained prominence leading Asaf Avidan & The Mojos (three albums, 2008–2010), then moved solo with Different Pulses (2013) and Gold Shadow (2015), followed by The Study on Falling (2017) and Anagnorisis (2020). Achieved international recognition with One Day / Reckoning Song (Wankelmut remix).03 Reviews
Other reviews
By Danny The Kid
"Different Pulses is perfect for this time of year: dense, melancholic, intense, yet it conveys an incomparable feeling of warmth."
"Asaf uses his sharp and bittersweet tone with absolute mastery, impressing especially for the intensity with which he manages to emphasize the choruses, never falling into self-indulgence and exaggeration."
