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Born in Paris, France and raised in Hamat RaSharon, Israel, Yael Naim utilizes her multi cultural roots to compile a wistfully romantic French, Hebrew, and English album that prompts her to join the ranks of fellow bluesy singer-songwriters as Norah Jones and Billie Holliday.

One of the obvious stars of the albums is the acclaimed single New Soul. With its upbeat lyrics and peppy tempo, it’s the perfect song to drive along to as you feel the wind blowing in your hair. The first song, Paris, sets the ideal tone for the rest of the whimsical album by dedicating an ode to the quintessentially romantic city of Lights. Another striking addition is Naim’s innovative rendition of Britney Spears’s Toxic — Naim alters a song that was known for its purely commercial appeal in the states with her own hypnotic, dream-like vocals, placing the song out of the realm of pop and into a more alternative, ethereal sound, in the same vein as the French music duo Air (famous for their song Playground Love.)

Naim’s album flows like a sultry, mysterious lullaby. Perhaps the most noticeable flaw is also one of Naim’s strengths: her thoughtful and original lyrics are definitely praise-worthy, but occasionally cross the line into over-sentimentality. Such songs as Lonely and Shelcha seem less like songs to listen to while contemplating the beauty in the world and more like “I feel sorry for myself because my boyfriend/girlfriend hasn’t called” mood music—that is, rather unnecessary. Nevertheless, the over sentimentality does not detract significantly from an album that is, overall, nothing short of lovely.