Review Summary: This young but yet super professional Israeli singer/songwriter emerged to be one of his countries best singers and I can definitely understand why.
When I first listened to Snir Yamin's songs, the first thing that caught my ear was his incredible vocal performance.
This young but yet super professional Israeli singer/songwriter emerged to be one of his countries best singers and I can definitely understand why.
His unique sound and the raw emotions that he brings to his songs are hearts melting and very fresh.
The first song to open this EP called "Missed Love." The song features the classical/ethnic talented cellist - Yoed Nir. Nir has an extremely impressive reputation. He has been playing with the likes of Regina Spektor, Paul banks from Interpol and his quartet was starred in almost every Israeli music album. "Missed Love" starts with emotional cello part which takes the listener to a world of magic and fairies. Then, a strong but yet emotional vocal of Yamin comes in and focus the ears on the most important thing - The story behind the honest lyrics. "Missed Love" is all about cello parts, acoustic guitars and amazing vocal performance by Yamin, above all that perfect acoustic production. Personally, I enjoyed every second off this almost 4 minutes song.
The next song is Top Of The World. The lyrics are very simple and contemporary and tell about the relationship on Top Of The World (but where exactly?). I think that Snir has accomplished what he wanted to achieve when writing this song. Everyone can take the lyrics to his own life story. For me, top of the world means to be on a very high mountain with my lover. This song is very mainstream and can really fit any major commercial radio station. It's a catchy and sweet song and I won't be surprised if one day I will go to see a Romantic-Comedy movie in the cinema and suddenly to hear "..I'm drunk, on the top of the world with you..."
The third song called Stay. A piano-based ballad with a bit of cellos and a very present vocal take. The thing that I love mostly in acoustic music is that I can really feel like I'm sitting in the recording studio while those talented people are tracking the album. I can hear every little wind waves coming through the microphones, I can hear the deep breaths between the words and I can hear, but mostly feel, the heartbeats of Yamin's while singing his soul out to the world. "Stay" is a very emotional song, the one that you want to hear when you feel alone and let yourself drawn and escape from the reality. It has an amazing music video too, which completes the story perfectly.
The fourth and last track called "Edge Of Time." I think that this track is unnecessary to the album. It's a half electronic piece with almost no lyrics. It could really be a nice addition if was produced differently. The EP tells an acoustic story with emotional lyrics and perfect performance, but, on the other hand, I find "Edge Of Time" kind of an outsider track.
In the bottom line, Urban Stories EP is an excellent piece of art. It's a "most have" album to all of you singer/songwriter lovers out there.
I had a chance to see Snir Yamin live in London last May as part of his Urban Stories World Tour at the Vibe Bar. On that show, he mentioned that he's planning to bring the tour to the U.S. soon. So for all of you in the U.S. I suggest - Do not miss this amazing and professional singer/songwriter, no matter what the price at the door will be, you must hear him live. (And make sure to get the EP too, it's great as the live show).
