Ben Folds has brought us great songs the last few years as a solo artist and as a part of Ben Folds Five, but his new CD Way to Normal, simply does not deliver.
Songs like "Hiroshima", "Bitch Went Nuts", and "BrainWascht" are simply off the mark, and stains the rest of the album. The first feels like a contrived struggle to tell a simple story (something he’s usually good at). The songs as a whole have lost their tight melodies, which made his songs work in the past, and are kind of floating out there with little purpose.
Exceptions exist of course, "You Don’t Know Me" features Regina Spektor, and is a great song. It’s catchy and melodic and the duet thing really works. "Cologne" is also great; it is composed with a great melody, a tightness that keeps its slow tempo strong and a great intro.
So aside from two or three noteworthy songs, the rest feel like demos that could have become something but didn’t. Don’t get lazy, Ben!
– Andy
Click here to purchase Way to Normal by Ben Folds.
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