Review by Evan Meena
Between Our Eyes, Yshai Afterman’s mesmerizing music video featuring poet extraordinaire Lisa Shalom, is a stunning and hypnotic journey combining clever music-mixing and camera-work with old word art and music.
Afterman starts with pulsating beats and chantlike lyrics that ushers us into a pensive journey of his memory of a great love. Manning all instrumentation, edited to perfection, Afterman sets the stage for the masterful rap poetry of Lisa Shalom.
Shalom’s flawless diction tied in a bow of light, sensual tone, showered the listener with deep “keeping it real” imagery. Her clear tone and strong, wide eyes were the opposite to Afterman’s’s dreamy close-eyed sway. This collision of visual imagery and tone diversity gave us a vast story told simply. A virtuoso musical break toward the end, after Shalom’s oration, combined the two moods beautifully. Clever editing made us think they were together but then we realize they weren’t.
Whether you’re listening to it for its musical value or its message, one finds great power in it. This was genuine immersion into multiple art forms. It told a story of a relationship from two angles beautifully and heartbreakingly.
Afterman has a bevy of stunning musical presentations available on YouTube. Shalom also has a litany spoken word, poetry, and strong commentary. It’s fitting that these two forces should come together in musical teamwork.
Words4Culture 