Yoav's Romanian-born father moved from Israel to Cape Town after fighting in three wars - only to declare pop music the enemy. Banned from listening in the household, his son heard the likes of Wham! and OMD at his neighbour's house, before sneakily practising guitar after his parents had gone to bed. Years later, a friend sent his demos to New York; he's now tipped as a massive talent.

It's easy to see why: Yoav's music is as idiosyncratic as his background. Armed only with an acoustic guitar, he constructs huge, club-inspired grooves by looping the sound of his hands beating on the instrument, over which he unleashes a ghostly falsetto. Closer to Jeff Buckley than James Blunt, the effect is startling.

A small but devoted crowd whoop and applaud what, on Club Thing, sounds like a one-man melting pot of Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Led Zeppelin. His years spent secretly listening to pop radio can be heard in lines lifted from the Fugees and Pulp ("What if you never come down?"), a guitar riff loaned from Bronski Beat, and a haunting cover of the Pixies' Where Is My Mind?

But Yoav is his own man. Describing himself as a "frustrated DJ", he adds another texture, the sound of his voice blowing over the guitar strings as he wails about "false prophets on the airwaves" and a world ruled by monkeys. By the disarmingly pretty Beautiful Lie, he has emerged as a rising star.

· At 93 Street East, London, Thursday (0207 247 3293). Then touring.