RSSReview: Ben Folds’ Way to Normal Exceeds Expectations
Sep 30
Music Album, Ben Folds, Review Comments Off
Way to Normal, the new full-length release by college rock icon Ben Folds, exceeds expectations. What might one come to expect from an artist that recorded “fake” versions of songs and then leaked them to the internet to throw fans and foes alike of the scent of the new album? Good question.
The answer, in part, is a solid rock album led off by the bombastic track Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head). The album includes the song Before Cologne, followed by the song Cologne (a stunning, almost ethereal love song) -- more evidence of Folds’ unique sense of humor. The best of the album is the single, You Don’t Know Me, a track recorded with Regina Spektor. But there is a lot else to like here. Brainwascht evokes earlier Ben Folds tunes and there’s something almost tragic in the message of Effington “I want to live, I want to die. Please bury me in Effington” even if you get the impression it’s all sung with a smile and a wink. But maybe the point isn’t to read too much into it. With Ben Folds, you can take it either way.
Folds took his band into the studio for three days to record the “fake” versions, which he leaked and is now playing on tour side by side with the album versions. It some cases, it’s proving not quite to his advantage, since the “fake” version of Brainwascht is at least as good as the real. And in the case of Free Coffee, the “fake” version is actually better.
For all that, fans will be happy and there isn’t much to nitpick here (though Kylie from Connecticut isn’t really all that fun and coming at the end as it is, you may just skip it from now on.) Even if you wanted to argue that Folds hasn’t picked up his game with Way to Normal, at the very least he delivered above expectations.
