Sabra Sounds

Not quite rock and not quite Mizrahi/Israeli, Oded Arbiv brings us a blend of the two styles in his catchy debut, Adayin Sham.

By VIVA SARAH PRESS
oded disk 88 298 (photo credit: )
oded disk 88 298
(photo credit: )
ODED ARBIV Adayin Sham (Hed Arzi/Anana) Not quite rock and not quite Mizrahi/Israeli, Oded Arbiv brings us a blend of the two styles in his catchy debut, Adayin Sham. His melee of acoustic guitar and pulsating vocals seems to fit perfectly. He also infuses his family's Tripoli traditions into his tunes. On some songs like "Kama At Yafa" he has a Jewish music sound. On other songs such as "Yalda Ktana Sheli", Arbiv brings forth a more soft rock vibe. His voice is smooth and often full of emotion. The 28-year-old from Moshav Ahisamech says in his press material that he has always breathed music. He wrote nine of 10 songs on the album. Singles off the release include "Boee Lirkod," "Hesed Neurayich," and "Zman Ptziyut." His lyrics are rather cliched and come across as sounding naive. According to music industry officials, Arbiv has a chance at becoming one of the next big names. He is most definitely talented. The question remains as to whether Israel's small music scene can maintain another soft rock/Mediterranean singer. DIDI SHAHAR Self-titled (Anana/ Hed Arzi) Another debut comes from Didi Shahar. The self-titled disc includes 11 tracks all written by the musician. Until now, Shahar has been known for the songs he's written for others including "Metziut Aheret" for Eyal Golan, "Tipa Tipa" for Miri Mesika, and "Kol Tav" for Oshik Levy. The 34-year-old was also once a part of the band, Moab. Here, Shahar offers up his versions of Israeli pop. Track 10, "Dvarim Shel Hayelet," was based on Tom Waits's "Soldier's Things." However, Shahar told Mooma music portal that he misunderstood Waits' song, and though it was the initial inspiration, his song possesses no correlation. His voice is gentle. His texts are at times understated and at times cynical. His songs are at first appealing but as the disc progresses, the seemingly radio-made tunes become unexciting. While he can sing and obviously can write, Shahar's star will shine brightest in the shadow of the bigger names for whom he pens songs.