More soul, please

I rarely have anticipated an excellent album based on the artist’s first single, except for maybe Christina Aguilera back when I was in junior high. Unfortunately, I made the same rookie mistake with Yael Naim’s self-titled sophomore release.

“New Soul” is somewhere in between Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” and Feist’s “1234.” It’s sweet and charismatic – the perfect debut tune.

But as a whole, the new album is pretty average. Don’t get me wrong; it’s definitely not bad. This just isn’t a breakthrough hit. I know a lot of critics disagree with me, but just because an artist is featured on a Mac commercial doesn’t mean they should receive an automatic seal of approval (See: Jet).

With Yael Naim’s French-Israeli nationality, one would hope for a bit more diversity in her songs. She was born in Paris, and she lived in a small town outside of Tel Aviv, Israel, for most of her life with her Tunisian parents.

The simplicity in songs such as “Lonely” is cute, but not extraordinary. Perhaps it’s meant to showcase her pure and soft-spoken voice, but frankly, the song drags eventually. Sweet songs like “Far Far” make this album enjoyable, but nothing more. Then, her cover of Britney Spears' “Toxic,” in an almost Tori Amos-like eeriness shows that Naim has a sense of humor.

It might seem unfair to compare Naim to other female artists, when she’s trying to establish herself independently. But the truth is that there is very little space for a woman to be successful in the music business. And each one needs some sort of “niche.” Feist’s got that indie-pop sensibility, Cat Power’s got the soul and Regina Spektor has the Russian piano quirk.

Even these artists had early lo-fi releases that didn’t amaze critics or fans. If anything, Naim just needs a bit more time to develop. She’s got the voice, now all she needs is the style.