I found out of Vaadat Charigim through one of my friends. They are trio from Tel Aviv, Israel, and their name is Hebrew for “exceptions committee.” They released The World Is Well Lost in 2013 digitally through Bandcamp, and had a cassette released through Burger Records and an LP pressed by Warm Ratio (based in Indianapolis). All of their songs are sung entirely in Hebrew, which may turn some of you off to them. I rather like it, and I think it adds to the band’s uniqueness. I was unable to find translations of the lyrics, but I was able to find this quote from Yuval Haring, the lead singer and guitarist, about the lyrics; “[S]ome of the songs are about being stuck. Others are about the world ending or the feeling that the world as a modern concept has long ended, and instead there is chaos, morally speaking.” Seems fitting for a group that’s surrounded the Middle Eastern conflicts.
The music itself is fairly standard shoegaze: heavy distortion of the guitars, and lots of layering. However, just because it isn’t incredibly unique or different doesn’t take away from the excellence of this record. There are some fantastic jams on this LP. Each song is so well crafted, and just sounds so excellent. The record starts off with the 7 minute long “Odisea,” which translates to “odyssey.” It’s one of the slower, less punchy songs on the album, but I still enjoy it very much. There’s some nice, gentle guitar strumming to start off the whole song, and is present throughout the entire song and it build upon with loads of distortion and reverb in the choruses. The reverb and distortion throughout the album is very thick and heavy, but it rarely feels overpowering; however, the points where it does feel overpowering are some of the better parts of the album (for example, towards the end of the fourth track, “Ze Besedar Lefahed”, the guitars are soaring and loud, but it sounds great).
After “Odisea” comes “Kezef Al Hamayim,” which is probably my favorite song on the album. The tone of the song is slightly darker and more menacing than some of the other tracks on the album, and it has one of the more catchy choruses on the album. There’s a break after the second chorus where everything builds up is fighting for your attention; Haring drones on, the drums are pounding and crashing, but the guitars are somewhat lost in this. However, they break through and deliver a killer solo. I just really enjoy everything about this song; the chord progression is very pleasing, the melody is great, and the chorus is infectious.
“Lehitorer Velo Lada’at” takes another turn down an even darker path than “Kezef,” evidenced mostly in Haring’s vocal work. He works in the lower ranges of his vocals for this song, and it comes across as if he’s just moaning and groaning, which definitely adds to the atmosphere of the song. Another good track.
Immediately after the gloom and doom of “Lehitorer” comes one of the fastest and most upbeat songs on the album, “Ze Beseder Lehafad.” Just another really good, fun song. The guitars are going to town on the melody and just jamming out. As I said earlier, towards the end of the song, the guitars become quite overpowering, but I see it as a good thing. Haring starts repeating a phrase from the chorus, and guitar and distortion just take off and soar over everything else. It sort of sounds like a really big fan spinning at top speed. It’s a very interesting use of reverb.
“Lehafad” transitions seamlessly in to “Haolam Avad Mizmam,” another fast song. The drums are punchy, and the sound and noise is very subdued during the verses of the song. But during the chorus, everything is let loose; the guitars ramp up the reverb, and Haring yells out, trying to compete with the guitars. This song has another killer solo towards the middle of the song. It’s not quite as long as “Kezef’s,” but it’s just as good.
The rest of the album is just as good as the first section of the album. Seriously, these guys are very, very talented, and do the shoegaze genre justice. I would highly recommend this album to just about everyone, whether they’re a fan of shoegaze or not. I genuinely hope that they continue to produce music, because these guys have got something good going for them. Fantastic album.
FAVORITE TRACKS: Odisea, Kezef Al Hamayim, Ze Beseder Lefahed, Haolam Avid Mizman, Ein Nehama Ladoachim
LEAST FAVORITE TRACKS: none
