Making use of loop stations, multiple mics, bass and synthesisers, Michal Gutman creates a sound quite unlike anything else I’ve heard.

By Graeme Smith

A risk-taker at heart, Michal has gone for eclectic with her debut solo album Never Coming Home. Musical theatre and cabaret tropes sit alongside ’80s dance, indie rock and much more to create something wonderfully undefinable across its eight tracks.

At its heart is a story of solitude, one that Michal describes as “the homesickness of a shipwreck survivor.” There’s plenty more metaphor like that as we hear stories of forests, pigeons and deals with the devil.

It all starts with Architecture. A stripped-back intro gives way to some dreamy and experimental indie folk rock. Michal’s vocals are instantly distinctive as they deliver their emotional and image-laden lyrics. Just as we think we’ve got to grips with the track, we get an unexpected compositional twist.

None of the tracks on Never Coming Home follow the script. Bekhi is raw, haunting and hypnotic, Pigeon Hunt, severe and cinematic. Doing It Again is a rocky and psychedelic highlight. This Is Easy is a dark, quirky and folksy. Running out of luck closes the album with a bass-led, brooding track that goes deep with introspection before arriving at a lingering finale.

The musical world needs offbeat pioneers and Michal Gutman is certainly one of them. She’s unafraid to do her own thing and the result is intoxicating. Her new album is a special one.

Never Coming Home was written and performed by Michal Gutman, with programming from Yiftah Yeshurun, and drums and percussion by Tuval Brown. It was recorded and mixed by Yiftah Yeshurun at Salon Kalon Studios, Gan Shmuel, Israel. The album is out now, available to buy as a digital album on Bandcamp. You can check it out below.