Review: Aron Halevi - Rise
When he co-founded Freshlyground in 2002, and spent the next seven years helping turn the seven-piece into global success, Aron Turest-Swartz gave scant indication of the wide-ranging musical gifts that are evidenced on his first solo outing, Rise.
Now working under the name Aron Halevi, the 10-track album is a revelation – and unquestionably the most affecting South African breakup album of this century (bar perhaps Laurie Levine’s Six Winters). Emerging out of the end of his marriage, the songs on Rise capture the complexity of love starting, love stumbling, love stopping – and what happens next, when everything has changed and the future starts coming into view.
Halevi gives immediate notice of the lyrical direction that drives his first solo record on album opener, “On And On”.“Buy a house and settle down/That is what they sold us/But what are we supposed to do once the party’s over?” he asks with heartbreaking poignancy amidst perfectly judged strings that carry the song’s melody forward. From there on in, Risejourneys through life’s dark corners (“I look up to heaven/Is it just a fairy tale?/I want to believe it/Can’t I just take a pill?” Halevi intones on the exquisite “Hurricane”), but also through those things that keep us humans moving forward, even when pain, guilt and desolation threaten to keep us stuck.“Never Say Never” is particularly effective in showing the duality of our emotional lives, as is album standout “Sweet Thing”, as terrific a song about the, at times madness-making, impact of true love as I’ve heard in the longest time.
Stripped of the need to consult and compromise, Halevi (near joyfully you sense) immerses himself fully in the sonic possibilities of his self-penned songs on Rise.
The sprawling album title track shimmers with multiple voices that elevate its defiantly positive lyrics, in spite of the uncertainties of his newfound single life (“How can I celebrate my independence from your life/I don’t know how to do it/Can’t you help me do it right?/I’m in the dark and I don’t know where I’m supposed to go/Does anybody ever know where they’re supposed to go?”). “On and On” serves up a muted beat that echoes the pounding of a heart, and what sounds like a barely discernible intake of breath – both of which drive home the song’s confessional tone. The tempo change on “I’m Still Smiling”, signified by the onset of hand-clapping, perfectly underlines the point of the song’s lyrics - that relationships don’t break down in isolation and sometimes collapsing stock exchanges and world currencies happen amidst the fights, the blame and the sides taken.
As much as Rise is a prism through which Halevi examines broken-heartedness and what’s to be done when impossible choices loom into sight, there’s a sense that making the album also provided him with a way to process his departure from Freshlyground. Although he went on to record a well-received album in a jail with (now ex) convict Larry Joe and has been playing his part in South Africa’s social cohension project, it’s been hard not to sense that Halevi was unresolved about leaving the band that brought him into prominence. Rise, then, is nothing less than a double dose of catharsis, both personal and professional; a line in the sand that deserves to propel Halevi forward to new horizons.
As a cohesive artistic statement, Rise can barely be faulted for its lyrical and musical nous that easily takes in multiple genres – exuberant pop, wistful folk, hushed indie, stadium-sized rock. As an announcement of Halevi’s arrival as solo artist deserving of global audiences who revel in music that speaks to directly to their emotional heart, it’s a triumph.
You can listen to Rise on your favourite streaming service and click here to get a feel for Aron Halevi’s musical journey.