Yael Naim has faced her share of trials, tribulations, and hang-ups in her short musical career, but with an ultra-successful Apple MacBook Air commercial and a surprisingly receptive French audience, Naim is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Spending her formative and young adult years in Israel, Naim learned Hebrew, French, and English as she studied at the Ramat HaSharon Conservatory of Music. Early on as a child, Naim dreamt of creating symphonic masterpieces, but never did she imagine that she would climb her way to the top of international music charts and find her way into the televisions and ‘souls’ of people all over the world. It is an odd balance that Naim is able to strike, mixing unique, contemporary female folk-pop arrangements with French, English, and Hebrew lyrics. Risking the possibility of being relegated to the ever-vague and career-dooming genre of “world music”, Naim has managed to elude these classifications.

By the sound of her self-entitled international debut, Naim has indeed found herself. Dually moody and magical, Naim’s graceful vocals float effortlessly over the minimalist yet accessible melodies of David Donatien. Her hit single “New Soul” is the obvious highlight of the album, featuring the happiest pianos, horns, and ‘la-la’s this side of the equator. “Pachad” [fear in Hebrew] is a slow jazzy number that will conjure up comparisons to Norah Jones, while “Shelcha” [I am yours in Hebrew] is a string-laden delight that is as inspiring as it is beautiful. Naim comes across so uncannily real and genuine that her songs listen more like an open diary than the product of complicated recording machines and the machinations of record executives.

Buy Yael Naim.

Listen to “Far Far” (4.8/5)

Listen to “New Soul” (5/5)