New Soul Yael Naim Debuts CD
Album Featuring the Song in the MacBook Air Commercial Gets Release
Self-titled debut album from Yael Naim, the girl that sings "New Soul" in the MacBook Air TV commercial, gets US March release.
Albums sung in English, French and Hebrew don’t generally garner much attention in the United States, yet the new album from Yael Naim is generating massive buzz.
Fuelled by lead single, “New Soul”, otherwise known as the song used in the MacBook Air TV Commercial, the French-born songstress’ first Stateside album continues to garner anticipation.
Atlantic Records will release Yael Naim’s self-titled album on March 18, according to a Billboard online magazine exclusive ( February 08, 2008 Cortney Harding), after battling other big labels for this artist, a relative unknown at the beginning of 2007.
A New Soul from France
Yael Naim was released in her native France in October 2007, on the Tot ou Tard label. The album, her follow-up to a 2001 EMI release, In a Man's Womb, debuted at number 11 on the French charts. Shortly after the release of her debut album, Naim left the label because of creative differences. Now, after a 7-year wait, she gets her first international release.
Raised in Israel, Naim served mandatory military service in that country, time spent as a soloist in the Israel Air Force Orchestra perfecting her craft. It was also during this period that she formed her first band. Naim doesn’t stray far from her Hebrew roots on new album, songs sung in this language intertwine with verses sung in English and French throughout the record.
While the average American record buyer cannot appreciate the texts of Naim’s Hebrew songs, the melody and pureness of her voice transpire any language barrier.
Endless Songs of Happiness
Lead single, “New Soul” begins like a piano recital before Naim’s voice pipes in, followed by a deep trombone and a "la la la" chorus. Uplifting and fun, and used prominently in the MacBook Air TV commercial, it has already debuted in the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
While its familiarity and boppy beat sound strikingly similar to Feist’s “1,2,3,4”, also used in an Apple commercial, “New Soul” does not set the tone of the rest of the album. Anyone seeking out 10 similar cuts will be disappointed.
Instead Yael Naim’s debut album features textured and complex songs constructed by an artist that cares more about the craft of creating beautiful and at times, odd music, rather than album sales.
“Far Far”, an autobiographical track about a girl dreaming of musical success, offers hope amongst the oft-bleak tone of the rest of the record. Meanwhile “Too Long” sounds similar to the acoustic / electronic clash recently adopted by Goldfrapp.
And on the delicate “Lonely”, using only piano, voice and cello, Naim channels Sarah McLachlan while singing the tender verse “You are not alone / I am here with you/ Even when you’re scared/ I’ll never leave you / standing in a storm,” words echoing the one hit from late 90's electronic act, Olive.
Toxic Effect
Naim wrote all the music and lyrics on the album, except for 2 tracks, “Lonely” which she co-wrote with Anne Warin, and “Shecha” with Clement Verzi. While many of the tracks sound like coffeehouse staples, surprisingly Naim also covers the Britney Spears single “Toxic”.
In Naim’s world, “Toxic” becomes a ballad, with vocals wrapped around a creepy piano that sounds oddly like a child’s toy, a weissenborn, doublebass, and eerie background noises. This new version of “Toxic” sounds like a slice from a stalker movie soundtrack, as if the toxic man Naim sings about lurks somewhere in the shadows of this dark track. This is weird stuff that the average Britney Spears fan won’t appreciate - and that’s even before the flute comes in at the end.
Yael Naim’s assault on the US doesn’t stop with “New Soul” being used in the MacBook Air TV commercial, she’ll also perform on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in March, according to the Billboard reporter, coinciding with the release of her album on the 18th. Naim is also scheduled to perform in New York, and at South by Southwest in Austin, before touring the rest of the country.
