Being one of the first artists I ever saw perform live, I’ve always had a special liking for Ben Folds. The songs he wrote were clever, fun and instrumentally inclined, yet at the same time he would compose songs that could both warm the soul and pull at the listener’s heartstrings. Keep in mind that I am purposely speaking in past tense because I truly believe that Ben Folds has lost his edge. Anyone who has listened to Ben Folds knows that he’s never afraid to mix a little humor into his lyrics. Whether it’s by adding an awkward swear word amidst calming verses or simply singing of narcolepsy and shut out hippies, Folds had developed a whole new way of writing music. This formula worked great throughout his early albums, but as the years go by, the Ben Folds element has become waterlogged.
Way to Normal is an album that follows the same few concepts as all of Folds’s previous works: humor and failed romances. Unfortunately, this time around, the humor is incredibly over done and the romance is dry and impersonal. Many of the songs on the album have great potential but were stained by Folds poor lyrical commitment. Songs about free coffee, an enraged basketball slicing girlfriend and a pun worthy city in Illinois, leave you wondering what drugs Folds was on when coming up with this stuff.
As far as the romance is concerned, you can only write so many songs about the same failed relationships before the listeners begin to see it as whiny deserved bullshit, worthy of going in one ear and out the other. Although I do have to give Folds credit for the songs “You Don’t Know Me” and “Errant Dog” in which he sings of himself as being no more than an errant bitch in every relationship he’s been through. It had to of been tough putting himself down after all those songs that left the girl in the dust.
I can’t say that the entire album is terrible because it does have its strong points. “Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)” is an excellent introduction to the album and an experiment in instrumental minimalism. Also, the albums lone single “You Don’t Know Me” is hands down Way to Normal’s best track but this is undeniably because of the Regina Specktor feature. “Cologne” is a mark of musical genius, yet was unfortunately ruined by Folds ridiculous lyrical input about astronauts wearing diapers. “Bitch Went Nutz” is also an instrumental gem plagued by impersonal storytelling and the same lyrical follies found throughout the album. The entire albums piano compositions are pretty damn good but unfortunately you just can’t listen to the album and overlook words that are on top of it all. Way to Normal definitely shows that Folds has not lost his piano rock roots, but merely a few screws from his head.
As the years go by and Ben Folds continues to write music all we can hope is that he somehow finds it in himself to reject all this non-sensical writing and compose another Whatever and Ever Amen.
You can check out the album for free here:
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