A heady mix of jazz, blues, folk, soul, and pop, the sophomore outing from Franco-Israeli singer/songwriter
Yael Naim includes the international hit "New Soul," which found favor with the masses in 2008 after appearing in an ad campaign for Apple's Macbook Air. Smooth, sensual, and occasionally quirky (a sultry, vamped up, bordello-kissed rendition of
Britney Spears' "Toxic" works surprisingly well),
Naim's fluid, shape-shifting voice, which proves effective in multiple languages (French, English, Hebrew), along with some surprisingly agile arrangements, goes a long way in establishing an atmosphere that's both exotic and familiar. ~ James Christopher Monger