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Israeli pop band tours to the Motor City.

JEFFREY LEVICK

Special to the Jewish News

T

In the song "One Fantastic Day,"
RockFour cleverly switches between
simple Brit-pop rhythms and driving
guitar riffs. The lyrics are equally eclec-
tic: "Modern figures flood the cyber-
space/ Artificial flavors rule our taste,"
sings Lulai.
The single "President of Me" is a pure
ready-for-radio rock ballad, but works
nonetheless and is an album standout.
'Astronauts" is a spacey homage to
David Bowie that sounds oddly anti-
quated, as if it were written 30 years ago.
At first listen, Another Beginning
seems like it doesn't belong in this era
of noisy garage rock or even spacey
indy pop.

ake every melodic pop song
and every trippy psychedelic
frolic since the '60s, mix it
with one part Israeli rock
and you get RockFour, Tel Aviv's latest
export to North America and Europe.
Currently touring in the United States
and Canada, RockFour will play in
Detroit June 14 at St. Andrew's Hall.
And while the band's music might
induce flashbacks, its latest CD, Another
Beginning (Rainbow Quartz, 2001), its
first all-English effort after recording
songs in Hebrew for the past nine years,
is more than just a trip
down "Penny Lane."
"English is not strange to
us," says RockFour's
Canadian-born drummer
Issar Tennenbaum.
"Hebrew reminds me of
Israel, but I still prefer
English — its more rock 'n'
roll."
With Hebrew songs get-
ting radio play in Israel,
RockFour has garnered a
strong fan base there, and
the group has been playing
gigs in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem
and Haifa despite the cur-
RockFour: Eli Lulai on vocals, Baruch Ben-Yitzhak
rent political turmoil,
on guitars, Marc Lazare on bass and Issar
which Tennebaum says
Tennenbaum on drums.
pushed the band to leave
Israel sooner than they had
anticipated.
However, like the original music it
"Traveling [in Israel] is not easy, and
borrows from, the songs gradually reveal
we thought, 'Sitting in Israel won't help
complex lyrics and arrangements that
our careers right now."'
might initially go unnoticed and unap-
Their new 13-track, one-hour CD
preciated.
romp combines tight Beatleseque/Byrds
"We don't want to be a retro band,"
harmonies with a heavy nod to early
says Tennenbaum. "We want to bring
Pink Floyd psychedelia.
out the good stuff of the '60s and '70s
Mixing the classic droning of a Moog
in a new way." ❑
Synthesizer with Keith Moon-like
rolling drum riffs and Lulai's sweet
— This article was reprinted with the
vocals, Another Beginning sounds like a
permission of the Cleveland Jewish News.
greatest hits weekend on a classic rock
radio station — but with a quirky, mod-
ern sensibility.
RockFour performs 7 p.m. Friday,
This fusion of now and then works
June 14, at Detroit's St. Andrew's
on some cuts, but leaves other tracks
Hall. Doors at 6:30 p.m. $8. All
sounding like covers of almost-famous
ages. (313) 961-MELT.
'60s tunes.
For more information, see

Jeffrey Levick is on staff at the

Cleveland Jewish News.

wwvv.rockfour.com

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