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

Painkiller

The Great God Pan
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller, the trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris shows no signs of slowing down. The Great God Pan is their third full-length, since their reunion in 2024, and in many ways it is an unexpected offering. In keeping with their interests in the metaphysical realm, Painkiller find inspiration from the famed Arthur Machen horror novella. Here, the … Read more

Painkiller

The Equinox
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller sees three absolute masters of extreme music join forces. John Zorn of Naked City and a billion other projects, Mick Harris who transcended from Napalm Death drummer to illbient guru with Scorn, and producer extraordinaire Bill Laswell. Their first two records, Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets are strange meditations traversing between free-jazz, grindcore and dub. Still hungry … Read more

Dauber

Falling Down
Recess (2025)

The lazy approach would be to call Dauber "ex-Screaming Females," but that barely scratches the surface. If I had to pick one band to namedrop a comparison to, it would be labelmates Night Court. They play a familiar style but with a lot of quirks that set it apart from the genre standard-bearers. It's driving and energetic -- more importantly, … Read more