Just when you thought Ben Folds quietly faded away, he roars back with an adult pop album unlike anything he’s done before. The piano melodies and harmonies are still in top form, but those three minute rants like “Brick” are long gone. Closer to The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner, this is the work of a fully mature band. Sure it starts with the rant “Erase Me” but the feeling is more resignation than defiance with its fuzz bass. Some gorgeous musical passages are on “Michael Praytor, Five Years Later” but as a whole it feels too familiar and ultimately doesn’t hook you. Folds still is a master of dramatic choruses, as the title track demonstrates and “On Being Frank” a biographic piano epic of Sinatra’s tour manager, with sweet flourishes after each line.
Like most mature artists, Folds goes for the deep emotion punch and often hits his target, like on “Draw A Crowd” he tells of a has-been musician who knows ““If you can’t draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall.” The closing tune “Thank You For Breaking My Heart” stands as one of the best BF5 ballads, full of the sentiment that closes a Broadway show. Both drummer Darren Jessee and bassist Robert Sledge help flesh out Folds compositions in each tune, but unlike past efforts there isn’t a melody that lingers in your memory after the last note plays. Still an essential LP for fans and lovers of mature pop.
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