When Lior Attar comes on stage, he doesn’t look like much - a guy in skinny jeans with a beard and a guitar and let’s be honest, there’s lots of those about. All those preconceptions vanish, however, the moment he launches into his first song.
Lior is an Israeli-Australian singer-songwriter, something of an underground hit in his native Australia through his independently released albums Autumn Flow and Corner of an Endless Road. His show at the fringe is a performance of his acoustic music, with only his guitars for company on stage. Artists such as Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, and Newton Faulkner all come to mind when trying to describe his sound and though I had not (to my shame) ever heard of him before, it is hard to write this review without sounding like a gushing fan.
Lior’s voice is perfect for acoustic music, effortlessly lilting through melodies, whilst disguising an impressive level of volume. The guitar playing is sublime as well: the man makes being a very competent and skilled musician look infuriatingly easy.
Despite comparisons, he is very much his own musician. He has taken the style of Mraz, Johnson and others and controls it completely to tell the stories in his songs. The influences he channels are wide-ranging, featuring blues and Hispanic styles among others.
The songs themselves are beautiful, there is no other word for them. Dreamy acoustic tunes such as ‘Autumn Flow’ and ‘Daniel’ give way to electric bluesy ones, such as John Martyn’s ‘A Satisfied Mind’. The highlight for me was Lior’s completely acoustic, unamplified rendition of his song ‘Grandfather’. Coming off the stage, he sat in the front row of the audience, completely relaxed and left us all spellbound.
The clincher of the show for me was that Lior does not take himself too seriously. The audience feels completely at ease, something Lior generates with his confident, casual onstage presence and through his amusing and personal stories about the songs he plays. ‘I’ve committed a cardinal sin as a singer-songwrite, and written a song about being happy’, he says.
It is hard to fault this show. If you are a fan of acoustic music, it is a must-see of the Fringe this year. If you aren’t, you will be after watching and listening to Lior.This is a man in his element: an amazing, almost magical show.
