Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
When Roy Dahan has something to say it is better to switch off every appliance that can disturb your train of thought for an hour, get whatever beverage you need to sustain you for the period of time allotted, close the curtains and sink back onto your bed or favourite chair and take in every word of Some Of This Life because at the end of the day the man’s hauntingly beautiful words will transport you far beyond these shores and to a land of mystique and tranquil repose.
Even the cover of the album suggests that to fight against the nature of the beast is sometimes futile, as the tsunami rushes towards the figure, it is plain to see he is just awestruck by the majesty and innocence of mother nature. The music on the C.D. echoes this thought throughout, driving intensity meets passive acceptance of the inevitable end. This echoing is not just wonderfully crafted by Mr. Dahan and the members of the band including Amit Hameir on classical guitar, Shai Barshishet on bass, Ilan Tenennbaum on drums and a truly fine contribution from Orly Shapira on cello but taken as if a matter of fact, a theory that goes beyond mere repeating of words but becomes like the best of poetry, rabid, infectious, keen to absorbed and to be understood line by line, word by word.
For anyone unaware Roy is not just a one off as a musician in his native Israel but a very big tip of an enormous all-encompassing iceberg and his songs speak of a certain quality that goes beyond borders and checkpoints and instead reaches out for a truth in the rarest of human lives, understanding without damning.
From the exquisite opener of Falling Like a Stone, to Drained with its ethereal feel onto Forgiveness For This Day and the cracking Stay Where You Are, each song is framed to suggest that nature is in us all, whether the allusion is something greater is up to the listener to define in their own heart. For all those that ever wanted to understand a soul in depth this an album to purchase and enjoy.
You can find out more about Roy Dahan at www.roydahan.com