David Israel

Say Goodbye to Sorry (Natrix Natrix)

The first 12-inch vinyl from homespun retro-label Natrix Natrix, David Israel’s debut full-length shades his 2006 EP, These Are the Clothes We’ll Wear When We’re Old, but wraps his deadpan gravel drawl in fleshier arrangements. Israel remains as playfully and ponderously perplexing as ever, an amalgam of lines both absurd and poignant that unsettles itself at every turn. Part Jonathan Richman, part Dave Berman, the local songwriter revels in being constantly off-kilter, with songs like “Even if You Lived a Million Years” drifting through so many time shifts and disjointed images that it seems like a medley. Still, tunes such as the title track and “I Hate This Town” have disarming charm, odd barroom asides contorted into song. “Country of the Future” could ride on the back of Deer Tick’s War Elephant, while “The Battle of the Century” crawls with eerie intensity. Though scattershot, when Israel hits his mark, it’s spot on.

**.5

This article appears in January 29 • 2010.

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Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.