AWmusic

A couple of months ago I wrote about this band in regards to a single and video they sent me. I loved the video and the song so was happy to get the full album. It’s one of the perks of this job, getting music from all over the world and it seems that Europe and the Middle East are coming up with some really interesting music. Eatliz is from Israel and is composed of six members – Lee Triffon, lead vocals; Guy Ben Shetrit, guitars; Or Bahir, guitars; Omry Hanegby, drums; Amit Erez, guitars, and Hadar Green, bass. They have been on the receiving end of a lot of praise in their native country and beyond, the video for the single, Attractive, was picked for high-rotation on European MTV. It was the first Israeli video to do so.

The first thing you will notice about this album is the production because it is so unobtrusive and whoever is responsible for the mix/mastering really knew what they were doing. Vocals are upfront, which is something I always like, but not so overpowering that you lose the delicacy of some of the more subtle guitar melodies. The drums are bright but again don’t overpower anything else or outshine the bass. You can hear each individual instrument without feeling that one is being sacrificed for another. And speaking of the vocals, Triffon has an amazing voice, her richness of tone and effortless delivery make listening to this album a pleasure indeed. She sounds an awful lot like Kate Bush or Bjork, which is a good thing since Bush has long had one of the best voices in the alternative genre. Triffon can hit the high notes with ease and she can equally hit the low notes with such confidence and purity of tone that it gave me chills. Her voice is easily one of the most versatile in rock right now. Such a strong female voice is sadly lacking in music these days and it really sets this band apart. She can sing with such softness and emotion and then switch to a full-throttle, coldness – often in the same song – that I found myself wishing I could sing like that. In Mix Me her voice is sexy and then in the next song Be Invisible it sounds so innocent.

Photo by Liron Arel Courtesy of eatliz.com

The songs themselves are written in English so there are no awkward translations, the lyrics flow without the weird juxtaposition of words that you often find in songs that were written in a different language. It’s hard to pin down just exactly what genre they would fit into seeing as they blend so many different styles into their songs. I heard King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, System of a Down, Kate Bush, Bauhaus, punk, mid-Eastern influences, Metallica and even a bit of surf in their music with many of these styles being combined in one song. I suppose they have more in common with contemporary bands such as Rasputina, Mars Volta or Portishead though. It is aptly named, this album, because the songs are, at times, both delicate and violent. Triffon is such a vocal chameleon that she can hold a note of such delicacy that it’s like down being blown on a summer breeze and then switch to a note of such power and intensity that it’s like being blown by hurricane force winds.

I am particularly fond of the jazzier compositions such as I Don’t Care where Green really gets his funk on. Say Where is another jazzy tune that displays the flawlessness of Triffon’s voice while also displaying the versatility of the band. Bolsheviks, the first song on the album, starts with a soothing piano but jumps into a loud, System of a Down style but then devolves into a carnival-ish atmosphere. The song jumps around but with Triffon’s soaring vocals holding it together it doesn’t end up sounding like the mish-mash I just described. There is a lot going on in these songs with time shifting, blending of styles, syncopated drum beats, and vocals that play around with the melodies so you are constantly being challenged to keep up. Predictable just isn’t in Eatliz’ vocabulary.

Even though this album came out in 2008 it is easily my favourite so far this year. In November the band is releasing an EP containing out-takes from Violently Delicate, called Delicately Violent. In 2010 they will be releasing their sophomore album, no word on the name yet, and I’m sure there will be lots of people like me anxiously awaiting it.

You can find Eatliz on MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube (you really need to see some of their videos – amazing). The band is offering this album and Delicately Violent for free through a link on their MySpace page and if you join their mailing list they will send out free songs once a month. You can buy Eatliz’ music through their record label, through Amazon and iTunes.

Here is the award winning video for Attractive:

Some songs for you to sample:

Eatliz – Attractive
Eatliz – Violently Delicate
Eatliz – Be Invisible