Review / 200 Words Or Less
Tel Aviv
Underwaters

Max Recordings (2007) Scottie

Tel Aviv – Underwaters cover artwork
Tel Aviv – Underwaters — Max Recordings, 2007

Okay this will be hard, but just try and stay with me here. Imagine this: Franz Ferdinand crossed with Radiohead. I know; it's crazy, but a few listens to the latest EP from Tel Aviv and I think you'll find it hard to argue. Imagine a kind of new wave influenced rock that you'd probably be ashamed to tell your friends you'd dance to and mix that an overall tone of somber, melancholy.

With Underwaters manages to create a haunting mood, similar to that of Radio head's Kid A. Their singer even sounds a little bit like Thom Yorke on some tracks. Before you can get too depressed though the songs usually transition (nicely, too) into a kind of rock that sounds like it takes a large amount of influence from eighties brit-pop. I know you're thinking that this would never and should never work, but, somehow, it does.

The biggest surprise of all though, despite all the Euro influence, the band is not only from the states, but Arkansas of all places.

8.0 / 10Scottie • July 8, 2007

Tel Aviv – Underwaters cover artwork
Tel Aviv – Underwaters — Max Recordings, 2007

Recently-posted album reviews

Dealbreaker

New Sides
Late Again Records, Toll Free Records (2026)

Dealbreaker popped onto my radar as part of a package tour with Pro Wrestling, who cold called me with a Penske File namedrop. This story is a bit of a Canadian roundabout, but their methodology worked: I listened to their music and dug it enough to review it. And I'm mentioning it because, at times, Dealbreaker reminds me of The … Read more

The Library Is On Fire

Degeneration Elegies
The Abyss, Ltd. (2026)

There’s a certain kind of band that never quite fits the moment they arrive in. Sometimes too jagged for one scene, too melodic for another. The Library Is On Fire were one of those bands in the early 2000s, hovering somewhere between indie-punk urgency and power-pop instinct without fully settling into either. On Degeneration Elegies, their first full-length in over … Read more

Nicole Alexis

Mirrors & Smoke
Independent (2026)

There’s a fine line between stripped down music and so stripped back that is sounds empty. On Mirrors and Smoke, Nicole Alexis lands comfortably on the right side of that line, delivering a debut EP that leans into simplicity without losing its emotional weight. Built around acoustic arrangements and minimal production, the EP feels intentionally close. It feels like these … Read more