new soul

There’s nothing like a slick Apple ad to shine a spotlight on a new talented musician and Yael Naim is no exception.  I love this little diddy…

A review reads, "What’s with the popularity of naifs?  Are we pining for lost innocence? The latest faux little girl is twenty-nine-year-old Yael Naim, a Tel Aviv-bred, Paris-based songbird whose single "New Soul" — like "1234" before it — became a hit thanks to exposure as the soundtrack on an omnipresent Apple ad. Her second CD, released last year in France and now issued here, is more of the same spare, arty folk pop: acoustic guitars, parlor-room piano, school-band brass and romper-room percussion, with a bit of Mellotron and other electronic frosting. Interestingly, many of the songs are sung in Hebrew, and the way Naim purrs any word with a hard "ch" will make your loins tingle. But the high point is a stripped-down, slow-motion, kinda-brilliant cover of Britney’s "Toxic" that reads, in light of recent headlines, like a sad love note to a wayward childhood friend. All in all, pleasant stuff — perfect for snuggling up with your motek and a couple of falafel."  -Will Hermes