(Epic/SonyBMG)

Folds gets personal

On Way To Normal Ben Folds seems stripped of his cool façade of wit, as the pianist drops the sweet from his bittersweet sound. A seemingly broken man, on Way To Normal Folds seems to be singing whilst struggling mightily to get his shit together. Quite literally even, on opener Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head), a song about a spectacular fall from a stage, Folds croons, devoid of irony, “The rush of adrenaline as the concrete rose to meet my face… as I crawled back onto the stage. Started pounding out the first song. There was blood on the keyboard. Oh my god.” Musically, the album is classic Folds, big melodies juxtaposed against diminutive arrangements, piano kept front and centre of the mix, with excursions taken into effects-driven keyboards on tracks like The Frown Song and Dr. Yang. Given that the album was basically jammed out in the studio, the songs have an improvised sheen to them. Perhaps because of this, Way To Normal feels like much more a personal excursion than Ben Folds’ previous solo efforts. However tracks like Bitch Went Nuts, Effington and Brainwascht see Folds once again hiding behind his wry wit, and it’s a shame, because Way To Normal has a visceral emotionality unseen on your every day pop record. Folds redeems the album’s credibility on closer, Kylie From Connecticut with a series of crescendos reminiscent of Billy Joel against a tale of forgotten affections. Overall, Way To Normal sees Ben Folds mature and write an angsty, heartfelt pop album.

****

TOM HERSEY

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