Ben Folds has dropped the two other members of Ben Folds Five for his solo album, Rockin’ The Suburbs, an Epic Records release.
I liked this album. All the tracks are strong additions, both musically and lyrically, and they work well together, too.
The title track has been receiving heavy radio play. It takes a sarcastic shot at the recent "angry white male" trend in music, with lines like "Y’all don’t know what it’s like / being male, middle class, and white" and "All alone in my white boy pain / shake your booty while the band complains." He isn’t immune from the song, either—the chorus contains the lines "I take the checks and face the facts / that some producer with computers / fixes all my [expletive deleted] tracks," but producer Ben Grosse did extensive computer editing on this disc.
"The Ascent of Stan" is another interesting song. I like the beat this song has, and its angry tone. The song is about a middle-aged ex-hippie in conflict about his current position in the status quo.
This album has a different sound than much of his work with Ben Folds Five, but some songs do call up the past. For example, "Fired" sounds a lot like "Steven’s Last Night in Town" from Whatever and Ever Amen. Songs like "Gone" have the same piano sound as earlier songs.
Overall, this is an excellent album, and I recommend it, especially to fans of Ben Folds Five.
Keep an eye out for Folds’ video for "Rockin’ the Suburbs," which was directed by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Also watch for Folds on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on November 22.
