Avi Jacob sings with a cautious confidence. Tiptoeing along the dirt path that is the verse of his prose.  He has unbelievable control over his voice, as he effortlessly  dances from his natural timbre to falsetto and back again.

There is a throbbing in the background, as if the heart of the man from this story is beating as he begs forgiveness to those he has hurt. The tone and ambiance of the song is one of yearning and regret. It really instills the feeling that the words are portraying. The piano, the guitar, the delicate and faint harmony vocal all play into this tone. A truly successful song here in evoking a feeling.

“Pickup Truck” tells the story of a man who lost his father and with much regret left in his heart. The self deprecating and honest nature of this song is beautifully torturous. You can feel the man’s pain through the words of the song. The shame and guilt of his lament, it is truly stirring.

Or can I be forgiven for what I’ve done

Sincerely your disgrace of an only son

Jacob has hints of Marcus Mumford, perhaps a bit of the music of Robert Pattinson, in his vocal tonalities and while his writing is certainly more relaxed that the usual sound for Mumford’s band, it feels good. As much of a bad rap as “that band” gets, seeing Mumford perform with The Punch Brothers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miZRqUIOVfA) is actually pretty good. Avi hits on the good points of that and with a flavor all his own.

I think that Avi Jacob is a gent to keep your eye on and ear open to.

http://music.avijacob.com/