Regrettably Yours, Alex & Taylor

Dear Music Enthusiasts and Adventurists,

    This week we bring to you a new album by the sometimes-forgotten Ben Folds. We hope this will give you a good view into the CD, we hope you enjoy it.

Taylor’s Opinion of sorts:

Short stories are quite different from lyrics of music. Where lyrics tend to try and portray an emotion, short stories, well, tell a story. Rarely do songs tell a story straightforward, instead, they hint at details from either past experiences of the musician or feelings that give you an idea of the emotion trying to be portrayed. Ben Folds recently decided to curve away from the traditional form of songwriting and team up with novelist and screenwriter Nick Hornby.  While Hornby would come up with short little ideas of stories in his head, he would write them down in a song form and then send them to Folds, who would then read over them and come up with a melody and music for the words.  What resulted is an 11-track CD titles “Lonely Avenue.”

    Instead of playing off of Folds’ emotions, personal experiences and thoughts, the individual stories of each song are written by a professional writer. This is where Hornby shines through. Even though some of the lyrics seem awkward while being sung, each song still tells a beautiful story. Instead of just background music for sleeping or to use for pumping you up before a big dodgeball game, the slower songs feel much more like a story book that you read while listening to Mozart while the more upbeat songs feel like an intense griping “stay up late into the night” read.

    Would I say this is Ben Folds’ greatest release? No, there are past albums and songs where his songwriting abilities have shown through much more, times when his vocals seem to blissfully settle on your ears. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments during this album that are great, but also many times where it feels like the lyrics and the singing clash with the well-written instrumentation. As a “buy this and listen to it forever” album, it falls short, but for an interesting change in the way you listen to music? I think it is definitely worth your time.

Alex’s Other Side:

After listening to old “of Montreal” CDs over the weekend, switching to Ben Fold’s new release, “Lonely Avenue” was a big jump. Not having listened to much of Ben Folds and only knowing singles such as “the Luckiest,” “Rocking the Suburbs,” and a few other songs, I was excited to get a true taste of his music and listen to a whole CD. Maybe the huge contrast from strange synth-pop to piano rock skewed my perception, but “Lonely Avenue” feels like it doesn’t quite achieve greatness and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

         There are definite moments that work in “Lonely Avenue” and the CD as a whole is enjoyable, to an extent. From someone who is famous for the lyrics, the lyrics sometimes don’t flow and are hard to understand without constant scrutiny of the words. The first time I listened to the album I didn’t really understand any of the songs. Maybe it was because I was working on an assignment for a class, but the stories didn’t click with me. However, the lyrics can be rewarding when finally understood. On “Levi Johnston’s Blues,” it sounded like an excuse to curse and swear. But after a second listen, it was actually a comedic song playing off of the pregnancy of Bristol Palin and Alaskan stereotypes. If you aren’t comfortable with foul language, then I would recommend staying away.

Now, lyrics aside, the thing that makes this album worth listening to are the moments where Folds shines as a musician. There is some great synergy in the way the parts complement the piano and where the synths and piano help each other build a stage for Folds’ voice and the lyrics. My favorite track, Doc Pomus, features a fast piano part, drums that perfectly complement the piano to create a unique rhythm, a slow horn over the top, and a bass that drives his vocals and harmonies to a point. Sadly, this track is one of the few songs on the album that actually captures this type of synergy.

             Overall, I was disappointed by “Lonely Avenue.” Even though the music is enjoyable, the moments of brilliance don’t over power the mediocrity of the other tracks and the disappointment about the liquidity of the lyrics and vocals. This CD sits oddly with me, with the lyrics of the faster songs working and the slower songs clumsily don’t flow unlike his earlier works. True, there are some great moments in the music, but over all I just didn’t enjoy it. I wonder how different the CD would have been if the lyrics sparkled as much as the piano does.  

Regrettably Yours,

Alex or Taylor