RockFour

Israeli psych pop quartet RockFour are tough to pigeon-hole. Formed in the Tel Aviv suburb of Holon, they began playing together during military service, and developed a repertoire of original songs in Hebrew and English.

Tipping their berets to the Moody Blues, Teardrop Explodes and The Zombies, RockFour convincingly married The Byrds & Bowie, updating it with 21st century panache. In 2000, four albums in, RockFour made the controversial switch to English lyrics – which immediately catapulted them onto the international scene and branded them Israel’s finest (and only?) rock export. And they haven’t let up: RockFour is now well on it’s way to conquering the world with a unique brand of neo-psychedelia and progressive pop. It’s a mix that works: Rock Four have sold over 30,000 records in the Middle East and Europe.

Their anticipated second release, NATIONWIDE, is the follow up to their break-through album ANOTHER BEGINNING (Rainbow Quartz 2002). NATIONWIDE was recorded at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit by Jim Diamond. The complex song-craft, interwoven with pristine pop harmonics, is balanced on a raw, energetic immediacy. RockFour wear their prog-pop sensibilities well:

chiming 12-string jangle, classic rock riffing, and clever atonal squalls of lead drive this recording into the arena of 70’s rock. NATIONWIDE echoes The Cars, ELO and at times vintage Squeeze, while the guitar playing evokes classic Robert Fripp and Jimmy Page dueling with Sonic Youth, all the while retaining a psychedelic dose of early Pink Floyd and The Byrds.