“Mommy from the desert, daddy from the snow and I am everywhere because I got nowhere to go” is a self-actualizing refrain that bewitchingly looms among the frivolous Hip-Hop backings, eccentric Jazz sensibilities, and sultry R&B beds connected by loose, fluctuating Electronica that protrudes the 16-track set list on ‘The Vandalist’, the latest multi-genre full-length LP offering by Israeli singer-songwriter Noga Erez. Found in the Eden Ben Zakra-featured single "GODMOTHER," the unapologetic proclamation of self-concept perfectly exemplifies her intense explorations of how your physical, emotional, spiritual, and social situations – particularly relating to her Middle Eastern nationality – form comfort in a chaotic society dominated by a 24/7 and digital lifestyle.
Swelling, lavish string sections greet your attention on the opener "Vandalist," while a stabbing piano melody and percussive shakers provide a playful soundtrack to Erez’s daring name-drops for clickbait and viral culture. A similar sense of fragmented production permeates through the cross-genre project, while Erez provides an argumentative call-and-response to her inclusive male collaborators that voraciously battle toxic masculinity as a viral trend that can blur the lines between generalisation and gender. Her Middle-Eastern roots are musically evident in her eclectic soundscapes too, as frantic Saxophone segments and Bhangra beats provide swift and lively experimentation on tracks like "A+" and "Ayayayay" that celebrate multi-national humanity.
Listeners with a fondness for St. Vincent and Genesis Owusu will be enamoured with her sharp skill in creating dramatic collages that feel ripe with tension yet fair with assessment. Be it the more psychedelic trap-leaning cut "PC People" that takes a break from the Hyper-Pop vivacity, the moody and Americana-inspired evaluation of her mental health on "Smiling Upside Down" or the Giorgio Moroder-esque mismatch of Gospel teases paired with a rambling Hip-Hop delivery on "Nogastein," it is difficult to find two tracks that tread familiar ground throughout the record.
The first half of the record feels like a love letter to the 00’s Hip-Hop of Method Man and 50 Cent in surprising ways, as crowd ambience agreeing with her critique of digital societal norms and quick instances of Horn-oriented bridges, propulsive drum loops, and captivating guest features characterize her energetic discourse. However, the second half of the album maintains a more smoky aesthetic rooted in crooner sounds and retreating String sections as she discusses her conflicting relationship with therapy on "PLEASE" and exudes stretching crescendos on ‘Danny’ leading to a sparkling highlight on "Mind Show" where acoustic guitars and warm harmonies are the vulnerable building blocks for her to discuss the importance of visualizing your own wonder prior to a final flip of the script where she namedrops her heroes on the closer "Oh, Thank You" by writing a love-letter to her influences before she lands a final opportunity to inject humor.
Although the pace flows beautifully, as Erez demonstrates clear chemistry with co-writer and romantic partner Ori Rousso, there are brief moments where her tangential swipes into fresh elements during tracks aren’t quite given enough time to develop into something more than a gentle influx of variety and her chameleonic mixed genre approach to production is a little too boisterous for its own good on "Ayayay," in the sense of the specific anthem not feeling like one thing nor the other, but these are just subjective low-points in a fairly compact record of tracks pushing just a sprinkling of minutes each that considerately, joyously debates our social norms.
Overall, The Vandalist is a chameleonic and multi-prismatic insight into how multi-nationality has been affected by the culture of social platforms like TikTok and provides a multi-prismatic day in the life of its 34-year-old visionary who comfortably seeks renewing experiences to inform her view of self-concept, producing a confident and courageous album bound to resonate with lovers of Latin pop music, 70’s Jazz/Gospel crossover hybrids, Hyper-Pop, 00’s Hip-Hop and soulful R&B sounds.
