CD Cover
עטיפת האלבום
It doesn't sound as good in Hebrew
AUDIO: Who's afraid of Israeli bands that sing in English? Guy Benyovitz, for one, but even he had to admit that The Homesicks do it right
I have always been ambivalent about Israelis who sing in English. Let's face it: If you're not a native speaker, it sounds bad. On the other hand, truth is that English is the language of Rock'n'Roll. Just try translating one of your all-times favorite rock anthem and you'll see what I mean.
The second song, "Michelle," which was probably designed as the catchy hit, is more upbeat (the band members explained they wrote it in protest of the parts that Michelle Pfeiffer chose to play in her recent movies…), a sort of cute lollypop with nice harmonies.
It was with this skeptic attitude that I sat down to listen to the new six-song EP of the Israeli band The Homesicks. My fear of English sang in a heavy foreign accent soon evaporated because it simply is a fine CD of music that attempts to revive the sound of the 1980's. And I am not talking about the sound of Modern Talking, but of Joy Division and others like it - clever, elegant, and often hardcore rock.
The EP, named "Modes of Production," holds several pearls. The opening song, "Want a piece of me," lightly sends you 20 years back with a sound that resembles the mythological Minimal Compact, with appropriately cynical lyrics that deal with the consumer society all around us.
The Homesicks - Everybody wants a piece of you
My two favorite songs, however, are found next. "T-Song" is an excellent tour de force of Tamar Afek, whose singing moves between the style of Niko of Velvet Underground and screams, backed up by walls of powerful sound. It is a well-constructed song, moving between a howl of grief and a huge roar. Play it in your car late at night and bang your head against the wheel over and over again. Yes!
The second fine piece is a cover version of Supertramp's classic "Logical Song." The Homesicks took this soft, warm-sounding melodic tune and made it cold and hard. Instead of taking a nostalgic look to the past, they are looking back somberly and cynically. The beauty of this version is that it truly gives a new meaning to the lyrics of Davies and Hodgson, as a good cover should.
Listen to the selected piece here and you shall not be disappointed; I hope.
The Homesicks are: singer, guitarist, and lead writer Haim Cohen; Gal Hermoni on keyboards; Omri Greenfeld, bass; drumer Yoav Lahav; and Tamar Afek, the female singer and guitar player who left after the album was cut and was replaced by Billy Levi. The band members are mostly students and their neo-Marxist views are clearly accented (as in the EP lyrics and title, for example).
Hayim Cohen, what's with the Marxist angle?
"Gal (Hermoni) and I hold very Marxist views and our band is very intellectual. When we're together, we play only half the time. We spend the other half exchanging clever ideas about neo-Marxism. We love knowledge as a rule."
Why cover a Supertramp tune?
"The Logical Song is amazing and brings up associations to which I easily relate. It has a kind of existential dialectic. We first played it in some party 4 years ago and reactions were great."
And the hard question - Why sing in English?
"It is not a hard question. It is old already. I don’t care that we have a foreign, rather than an English accent. Not everyone speaks like Mick Jagger."
The Homesicks' EP debut will take place on 15 March at 7 Levontin St., Tel Aviv. The band members promised to start working on a full album real soon.
