''Distant Lover'' is the debut solo album by Israeli singer-songwriter

Yotam Ben Horin Yotam Ben Horin ( he, יותם בן חורין; born February 17, 1979, in Haifa, Israel) is an Israeli musician best known for his work as the lead singer and bassist for Israelis, Israeli punk rock band Useless ID, as well as a solo artist re ...

, best known as frontman of Israeli punk rock band

Useless ID Useless ID ( he, יוסלס איי.די) is an Israeli punk rock band, formed in Haifa, Israel in 1994. Known as one of the most successful Middle Eastern punk bands worldwide. History Useless ID was founded in 1994 as a four-piece: Guy Carmel - ...

. The album was released on October 3, 2012, through

Hardline Entertainment Hardline Entertainment is an American independent record label, created and owned by Ken Seaton. The label started as a management company and developed into an independent record label/management company. Hardline is based in Hermosa Beach, Cali ...

. Recording of the album took place between April–September 2009, with mixing taking place in February–March 2010 by

A.J. Mogis A.J. Mogis is a musician from North Platte, Nebraska. He currently plays bass guitar in the indie-rock band Criteria. His brother is Mike Mogis. Together, they founded Presto! Recording Studios and have recorded almost all the albums released ...

Criteria Criterion, or its plural form criteria, may refer to: General * Criterion, Oregon, a historic unincorporated community in the United States * Criterion Place, a proposed skyscraper in West Yorkshire, England * Criterion Restaurant, in London, Eng ...

, and mastering in May–June 2010 by Doug Van Sloun of Focus Mastering, though in October 2010, Ben Horin returned to the studio to re-record some songs, which delayed the release of the album. On January 10, 2011, Ben Horin announced on his Facebook page that the final master of the album was ready, though it was delayed because of his prior commitments and lack of label until 2012. On August 21, 2012, it was announced that Ben Horin has signed with

and also the song "Into the Blues" was released as a promotional single, for free streaming on

's SoundCloud page. It was announced that the album will be released in Israel on February 2, 2013, through the label Music972 under Hatav Hashmini distribution. The release was accompanied by a special release show at the OzenBar in Tel Aviv, with guest musicians Danny Sanderson, Amit Erez and Rotem Or.

Musical style

Unlike the pop punk and punk rock sound Ben Horin is better known for in

, his solo album shows a more diverse sound with such varied genres as alternative rock, indie and folk rock, with influences such as

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

and Death Cab for Cutie. The album was recorded with

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

drummer Ran Shimoni (ex-

Monotonix Monotonix were a garage rock band from Tel Aviv, Israel. The group—singer Ami Shalev, guitarist Yonatan Gat, and drummer Ran Shimoni (later replaced by Haggai Fershtman)—released their debut EP in 2008 and toured mostly in the United States ...

) on drums and percussion, Saul Eshet (ex-keyboardist for

Shy Nobleman Shy Nobleman ( he, שי נובלמן; born July 2, 1974) is an Israeli rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, keyboardist, guitarist and sports broadcaster. Discography Solo albums * 2001 – '' How to Be Shy'' * 2005 – '' Bea ...

's solo act) on piano and keyboards, and indie musician Katie Danielson who has toured with Yotam as a backing vocalist on his shows across Israel, on female backing vocals, with Yotam handling all guitar and bass duties himself.

and Bright Eyes, who also mixed the album, has provided keyboards on the song "Prohibited Area".

Singles

On October 31, 2012, the acoustic ballad "Prohibited Area" was released as the first official single from the album. The song is solely acoustic with Ben Horin singing and playing acoustic guitar, backed by

on keyboards. On December 3, 2012, Ben Horin released the second single off the album, "She Was a Saint", to great praise. On January 2, 2013, the title track and third single, "Distant Lover", was released. A music video was also produced for the single, which was released previously on October 12, 2012, produced and directed by Raz Daskal. On March 4, 2013, Ben Horin released "In My Head" as the fourth single off the album, along with a music video of him performing the song alone with an acoustic guitar.

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals, guitar, bass *Katie Danielson – vocals *Saul Eshet – piano, keyboards *Ran Shimoni – drums, percussion *

– keyboards on "Prohibited Area" ;Production *

– mixing *Doug Van Sloun – mastering *Liron Schaffer – recording, engineering *Adi Khavous – photography *Sergie – cover design

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2012 debut albums Yotam Ben Horin albums