New York-based Israeli guitarist\/composer Rotem Sivan possesses a crystalline tone in delivering lush chord voicings and creative solos saturated in lyric harmony, drama, and dynamics. He’s crisscrossed and combined everything from klezmer and Indian classical music to post-bop jazz, bluesy Americana, global hip-hop, and indie rock. Dream Louder is a quiet follow-up to 2023’s 24-track Far from Shore, recorded by 23 musicians including five vocalists, bassist\u00a0Tim Lefebvre, and saxophonist\u00a0Brandon Cook.<\/p>\n
Dream Louder was inspired by and composed for Sivan’s wife Lore and her family. They were married in 2022 after a five-year courtship. Eight tunes are originals, and two are covers —\u00a0the Beatles’ “Blackbird” and Brecht-Weill’s “Mack the Knife.” Sivan’s trio includes 26-year-old bassist\u00a0Hamish Smith\u00a0and 21-year-old drummer\u00a0Miguel Russell. They are joined selectively by criminally under-noticed jazz\/folk\/soul singer\u00a0Sami Stevens, and virtuoso whistler and cellist\u00a0Luke Krafka\u00a0(Shattered Glass) on several tracks.<\/p>\n
Opener “The Tree” was composed for Lore’s mother, Hilde. Essentially a lullaby, its tender, minor-key melody is built on a circular, three-note theme that strongly recalls\u00a0Paul McCartney’s “And I Love Her.”\u00a0Krafka’s whistling and cello under\u00a0Stevens’ wordless singing combined recall scores from spaghetti westerns. The interplay behind Sivan’s solo is seamless and airy. “Anneleen” (Lore’s sister) adds a jazz ballad to indie pop as\u00a0Stevens’ subtle, yet rich falsetto vocals double Sivan’s guitar parts, adding depth. The all-too-brief “Dragon” is an organic drum’n’bass workout atop a sweeping chord progression appended by a fleet, chromatic guitar solo. “Luc” (after Lore’s father), is driving post-bop, a labyrinthian jazz that cuts across blues, flamenco, and modal music as Sivan trades fours, then duets, with\u00a0Krafka. “Lore Luv” initially sounds like something composed by prolific guitarist\/film composer\u00a0Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, with whistling hovering just above a minor progression and soft fingerpicking. A minute in, however, it sounds hijacked by the power-riffing finale of\u00a0King Crimson’s “Lark Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 2.” The trio then picks up the tempo in canny improvisation around an excellent vocal solo from\u00a0Stevens. “The Hamish” is built on a circular, slightly funky bassline and guitar vamp;\u00a0Russell\u00a0delivers tight syncopation in the backbeat, referencing soul and hip-hop.\u00a0Stevens’ laid-back yet expressive vocal underscores a blues line from Sivan above the rhythm section’s fluid, tuneful interaction. “West Virginia Mine Disaster” is rendered with acoustic guitar, upright bass, percussion, and whistling. It’s eerily cinematic.\u00a0Stevens\u00a0sounds like she’s delivering actual lyrics while a repetitive modal chorus evokes Delta blues and Indian and Appalachian folk music. The covers are well done and offer diversion and aural pleasure: “Blackbird” offers subtly inverted harmonies while “Mack the Knife” is smooth, hip, and humorous.<\/p>\n
Dream Louder is far more intimate, detailed, and gentle than either 2018’s\u00a0My Favorite Monster\u00a0or 2023’s Far from Shore but is just as ambitious and focused. Its emotional resonance and intimate trio communication render this album his most potent offering yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[25],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-224","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-vinyl","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myiesstore.com\/rotemsivan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}