adrianhughes
11/22/08, 04:30 AM
Ben Folds - Way to Normal
Record Label: Epic Records
Release Date: September 30, 2008
It has been a long three years since the last album release from Ben Folds, 2005's Songs for Silverman. What has he been up to in that time? A lot, really, contributing songs to various soundtracks, releasing an EP, and playing with various symphony orchestras in both the U.S. and Australia. And despite the disappointment I felt with the mellower sound of Songs for Silverman, I really looked forward to Way To Normal. I hoped it would be a return to the infectious and solemn sounds of Rockin' The Suburbs.
Unfortunately this time around, this album is not a saving grace. The album kicks off with "Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)", a track documenting Ben Folds' experience falling off stage during a performance in Japan. A ridiculously catchy song marking the return to cheeky lyrics we know Ben Folds for and an infectious piano/drum beat had me singing along with the backing crowd. I eagerly awaited the next track, "Dr. Yang," a fast-paced and quirky track that banks on its heavy impact through the use of distorted audio effects. However, the distortion gets a tad annoying after a while, which had me skipping to the next track quickly on other occasions.
The next two tracks, "The Frown Song" and "You Don't Know Me," shift to the slower speed of the opening album track. However, they failed to make an impact in my mind. Both tracks face the same problem that is rife throughout the album, that being the teenage/young adult angst integrated into the lyrics, which after a while grows tiresome. Lyrically, softer songs on Rockin' The Suburbs, such as "Fred Jones Pt. 2" and "The Luckiest," showed earnest emotions that had a profound effect on the listener, showcasing Folds' broad spectrum of emotions. I didn't see this in many of the songs on Way To Normal, and rapidly found myself bored with many songs lyrically and musically. "Cologne" and "Kylie From Connecticut" are two other examples that come to mind of Folds' trying and failing to strike a chord with the listener's heart. However, Folds' strength lies in his catchy hooks and quirky lyrics, and thankfully there are more of these tracks to come. "Bitch Went Nuts" and "Effington" rely on these to propel them to the listeners attention. "Effington" has (in my eyes) funny lyrics and tongue-in-cheek humor that are sorely missing from many other tracks on this release.
Despite the strong points, this album doesn't strike back like it should have from Songs for Silverman. This album faces the same issues as its predecessor did: too many softer songs that do not make an impact on the listener, either lyrically or musically. The lyrics and instrumentation do not seem as intelligent (being too simplistic) as previous releases (even dating back to the era of Ben Folds Five), and singalongs grind to a point of almost non-existence. A lot of Folds' fun and attraction as an artist can be attributed to his uncanny ability to get his listeners involved with hilarious lyrics, and making weird and geeky seem cool. Sadly, this has not materialized on this release, and although I believe many old Ben Folds fans who hopped on at Songs for Silverman will be pleased, many newer fans will fail to be attracted to the Fold. A lyric in "Effington" sums up everything perfectly: "or I could just keep moving on, moving on, moving on, moving on, Not stop 'til I get to Normal." Normal is boring, the crazy Ben Folds we all love is what kept us listening in the first place.
old Ben Folds; quirky piano rock
myspace.com/benfolds (http://www.myspace.com/thematches)
Record Label: Epic Records
Release Date: September 30, 2008
It has been a long three years since the last album release from Ben Folds, 2005's Songs for Silverman. What has he been up to in that time? A lot, really, contributing songs to various soundtracks, releasing an EP, and playing with various symphony orchestras in both the U.S. and Australia. And despite the disappointment I felt with the mellower sound of Songs for Silverman, I really looked forward to Way To Normal. I hoped it would be a return to the infectious and solemn sounds of Rockin' The Suburbs.
Unfortunately this time around, this album is not a saving grace. The album kicks off with "Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)", a track documenting Ben Folds' experience falling off stage during a performance in Japan. A ridiculously catchy song marking the return to cheeky lyrics we know Ben Folds for and an infectious piano/drum beat had me singing along with the backing crowd. I eagerly awaited the next track, "Dr. Yang," a fast-paced and quirky track that banks on its heavy impact through the use of distorted audio effects. However, the distortion gets a tad annoying after a while, which had me skipping to the next track quickly on other occasions.
The next two tracks, "The Frown Song" and "You Don't Know Me," shift to the slower speed of the opening album track. However, they failed to make an impact in my mind. Both tracks face the same problem that is rife throughout the album, that being the teenage/young adult angst integrated into the lyrics, which after a while grows tiresome. Lyrically, softer songs on Rockin' The Suburbs, such as "Fred Jones Pt. 2" and "The Luckiest," showed earnest emotions that had a profound effect on the listener, showcasing Folds' broad spectrum of emotions. I didn't see this in many of the songs on Way To Normal, and rapidly found myself bored with many songs lyrically and musically. "Cologne" and "Kylie From Connecticut" are two other examples that come to mind of Folds' trying and failing to strike a chord with the listener's heart. However, Folds' strength lies in his catchy hooks and quirky lyrics, and thankfully there are more of these tracks to come. "Bitch Went Nuts" and "Effington" rely on these to propel them to the listeners attention. "Effington" has (in my eyes) funny lyrics and tongue-in-cheek humor that are sorely missing from many other tracks on this release.
Despite the strong points, this album doesn't strike back like it should have from Songs for Silverman. This album faces the same issues as its predecessor did: too many softer songs that do not make an impact on the listener, either lyrically or musically. The lyrics and instrumentation do not seem as intelligent (being too simplistic) as previous releases (even dating back to the era of Ben Folds Five), and singalongs grind to a point of almost non-existence. A lot of Folds' fun and attraction as an artist can be attributed to his uncanny ability to get his listeners involved with hilarious lyrics, and making weird and geeky seem cool. Sadly, this has not materialized on this release, and although I believe many old Ben Folds fans who hopped on at Songs for Silverman will be pleased, many newer fans will fail to be attracted to the Fold. A lyric in "Effington" sums up everything perfectly: "or I could just keep moving on, moving on, moving on, moving on, Not stop 'til I get to Normal." Normal is boring, the crazy Ben Folds we all love is what kept us listening in the first place.
old Ben Folds; quirky piano rock
myspace.com/benfolds (http://www.myspace.com/thematches)