PRINTSound Advice
Ben Folds: Way to Normal
Courtesy of Sony
October 9, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Most musicians fear their new albums leaking over the Internet for all music pirates to pillage and download for free. But not Ben Folds. This pop-rock pianist took matters into his own key-blazing hands and intentionally leaked a fake version of Way to Normal in July. The faux album consisted of six tracks the artist wrote while on a flight to Ireland. Illegal music downloaders, you’ve just been punk’d.
Way to Normal, Fold’s third real solo album, recalls the sound of 2001’s Rockin’ the Suburbs and boasts a plethora of up-tempo piano-pop pieces.
But entertaining and catchy as the new album is, some of its elements don’t really work. Folds integrates techno-rich loops into many of the tracks, which distances Normal from what so many people love Ben Folds for: his piano-man charm.
Album opener “Hiroshima (B-B-Benny Hit His Head)” is a catchy and kitschy by-the-numbers Ben Folds song — fast-paced and piano-laden about an obscure moment in his life.
Regina Spektor lends her vocals to the standout track, “You Don’t Know Me.” The song, which is the album’s first single, consists of simple, staccato rhythms that will send feet tapping and heads nodding.
Folds shows his comedic side in “Effington,” an effing narrative about a town he comes across on his travels to Normal, Ill. He debates life and wonders, “Maybe I should ditch this little white rental on the interstate/and start a new effing life in Effington.”
It wouldn’t be a Ben Folds album without the musician’s trademarked tear-jerker ballad (“The Luckiest,” “Late”). Normal offers “Cologne” and “Kylie from Connecticut.” These two melancholy tracks showcase Folds’ story-telling ability and are bound to wet the eyes of adolescent girls nationwide.
Overall, Normal might not be Ben’s best album, but it is ideal for those fans looking for a Folds fix.
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