Rock Four

RockFour has forged its reputation as the best rock band ever come out of Israel (sorry Churchills fans, it’s true!) by marrying psychedelic-era Byrds guitar licks to the haze of early Pink Floyd and the mania of freakbeat. Their new album, Nationwide, is probably their most accessible to date, and as always integrates the aforementioned, disparate influences (and more) into a work that’s wholly original, seamless, and quite exciting. There’s absolutely nothing like the sound of Baruch Ben Izhak’s guitar which, to steal a phrase used by Marshall Crenshaw to describe his own music, chimes like fucking church bells, ands that sound comes right out of the gate of tracks like “Next Monroe”, “To The End”, and “You Said”. As testament to their versatility, RockFour can bring it down a notch when they want to: “Candlelight” possesses the style and laughter of “Behing Blue Eyes”, “Have A Good One” is a very pretty, early Lennon-esque tune and would make fine lullaby, and “I Can Read You Now” is classic stoner. Dark Side Of The Moon-era Floyd. The oft-metamorphosing “Moving Fast” is remarkable, and features Eli Lulai’s (see if you can say that name three times, fast!) most flexible vocals. The title track is probably the best and most accesible of the bunch with its powerful nod to The Move. There’s no doubt that Nationwide will please longtime followers of RockFour, and will continue to add to their ever-growing legion of fans.


David Bash
- Bucket of Brains

Travelling the farthest and rocking the hardest, Tel Aviv's Rockfour can best be summed up as the not-so distant cousins of the Flashing Lights. Anchored by the amazing Issar Tennenbaum on percussion and the Byrd-like quality of Baruch Ben Yitzhak's guitar playing, this four piece was a highlight of the entire explosive weekend. - Exclaim

… and you might ask yourself “Self, why don’t more neo-psychedelic bands come out of Israel?” Well, look no further. RockFour are here. This four-piece led by Eli Lulai hail from Tel Aviv and choose to trade in their country’s flux for a healthy dose of aural nostalgia. Nationwide is their latest effort and pays a large debt to ELO and Cheap Trick. Strong melodies, synth-soaked guitar licks and smooth production give this album a decidedly Californian sheen and allow Lulai’s songwriting to shine. Accordingly, his vocals are placed way up in the mix and fiddled with extensively. Highlights include the thrashy Byrds knockoff “To The End” and the somber “Have a Good One,” a minor-key ode to pleasant thoughts and numbers. The only real weakness is that the tracks tend to bleed into one another once Nationwide’s 52 minutes are through. But, overall, the RockFour have a faithful sound and are certainly another strong addition to the ever-prolific Rainbow Quartz canon. - Spill Magazine