Israeli singer Tal Weiss has been active for over a decade, releasing her first album backcaTALog in 2005. Since then Weiss has released a number of albums, EPs and singles. Motion Drawing, released in December 2010, finds Weiss presenting a series of “minimalistic musical miniaturesâ€.
I have listened to Motion Drawing for the past two weeks; it is on rotation amongst a variety of other things and finds itself providing a soundtrack for my travels around the “burbs of South Western Sydney, as well as being subject to more scrupulous headphone listening. What intrigues me most about Motion Drawing is the amount of space Weiss and her fellow musicians leave. The arrangements are sparse and the performances are simple and quaint.
The choice of instrumentation on Motion Drawing is quite interesting too, for instance, the juxtaposition between sections of dry, marching cello stabs and soft, angelic vibraphone chords on “Him & I’ provide an overt tension and release. Elsewhere, the use of harp, classical guitar, cor anglais, double bass, flutes and water bottles neatly compliment Weiss’ dainty, quirk-laden vocals.
Weiss’ vocal approach, the unusual instrumental combinations and stylistic traits heard throughout Motion Drawing will be compared to female artists such as Björk and Camille, at least to my mind. Whilst not being highly original, Motion Drawing is a well crafted collection of soft, sweet and engaging tunes.
Luke Bozzetti
