ROMAN SPEKTOR

Functionality

IIsraeli singer-songwriter’s diverse, diverting debut.

t’s common to see artists presenting their work to the world too early, their songs still seemingly searching for a signature sound in which to feel at home. Roman Spektor’s debut album could be viewed as case in point, but its variety of styles and influences make for an engagingly idiosyncratic, unpredictable set.

Opening track Checkbok sometimes echoes Queens Of The Stone Age in its fuzzy, bottom-heavy malevolent churn. ‘Consistently losing my hair,’ he observes, one of many ear-pricking lines he comes out with. A similar sense of angst pervades across Look For

Victory and Selling Doors, underpinned by skittering, antsy time-signatures and clouds of electronic angst.

When the mood lifts, it’s just as intoxicating. Cut The Cool Air is built on excited breakbeats and a breathy vocal expressing a romantic desire to leave all that claustrophobia behind. Elsewhere, the early 80s-style pomp-pop of Passivity, is brought to life by a voice that echoes Marc Almond or The Associates’ Billy MacKenzie before bursting into rasping rage. There’s undoubtedly a lot going on, but then if it knitted together more comfortably, perhaps it might lose some of its edge.