Ben Folds - Way To Normal

Ben Folds
Way To Normal
2008 Epic Records

Since Ben Folds broke out on his own in 2001, he's blazed a new career path with a strikingly different sound and feel than his material with Ben Folds Five. Largely gone is the twenty-something exuberance of his earlier records; replaced with a more sentimental and serious attitude of a man growing up. In the process, he created two great albums (2001's Rockin' The Suburbs and 2005's Songs For Silverman) that stand as some of his best work.

With his career going in this new direction, it's a bit of a disappointment that he tries to reinvoke his youthful magic on his latest record, Way To Normal. It's not that his songwriting ability is truly diminished (though we may be seeing hints of that), it's just that he's not a very convincing young adult anymore. After hearing tender songs about his children on his most recent albums, it's tough to take "Bitch Went Nuts" seriously.

He does try hard, however, and the album starts strongly enough. The opening track, "Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)" is the best on the album and comes the closest to recapturing the carefree angst of the Ben Folds Five records. "Dr. Yang" and "You Don't Know Me" soon follow, which are both welcome listens.

The album really hits a dead patch in its middle, with track after track coming and going without distinction ("Free Coffee" is borderline terrible). But the album again rebounds at its end, with "Effington" and "Kylie From Connecticut" providing a punctuating finish to a record that didn't leave much to punctuate. These songs almost make you overlook the banality that is the middle of the record, and it shouldn't come as a surprise that they are much closer in tone to his recent albums than anything else here.

No one said it was easy to switch gears ideologically and musically on a dime. But, to be blunt, Folds is an older man now. In his 40's, his record-store clerk haircut and ditties about his ex-girlfriend "stabbing his basketball" just don't ring true anymore. Folds is an extremely gifted songwriter, however, and perhaps he can find his rhythm again if he, you know, writes better songs?

C-


John Lacey