There has been a noticeable trend among younger international musicians towards modernizing the sound of their parent's and grandparent's music with decidedly mixed results. While some have been able to strike a delicate balance between the old and the new, others have shown themselves to be far to eager to discard what it was that made their music special in the first place. Thankfully that's not the case with Inbar Bakal as she and her producer Carmen Rizzo have demonstrated they share an awareness of just how far they can push a song in that direction before it loses the distinctiveness that gave it character in the first place.
While Bakal sings in a mixture of Hebrew and English, the lyrics of her songs are another way in which she brings the material into the modern world. The song "The Bride" is a great example of this as its actually two songs in one that deals with the difficult subject of an arranged marriage. In the first song we are given the bride's perspective. She begs her family not to marry her off to this man whom she abhors and their answer is a resounding no. The "second" part of the song deals with the wedding itself and serves as a contrast to the bride's misgivings and reluctance.
What I appreciated most about Song Of Songs was the ability that Bakal and her producer showed in finding the balance between the modern and the new and the traditional and the innovative. Neither the use of instruments from the other cultures nor the manner in which they used production values interfered with the inherent beauty of the original music. You can not only feel the power and the passion of music that's been handed down from generation to generation, but Bakal's love and respect for what she's doing as well.
Listen to the title track, "Song Of Songs", and you'll hear just how well she's able to blend the modern and the traditional. She has taken the words of the psalm and turned them into not only a wonderful love song, but a song that also celebrates the wonders of love. You can hear within the litany of praises for the lover's attributes her belief in what her grandfather called the divinity of love between people. Instead of the usual sentimental tripe normally heard in contemporary love songs, she has created a piece of music celebrating the awe and wonder that such feelings can exist between two people. After listening to "Song Of Songs", you can't help believing those emotions are so rarified they have to be a gift from some higher power or another.
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