The piano rock trio rose from the '90s plying smart, jazz-and-pop sensible piano rock that packed a powerful instrumental punch, and featured lyrics with both emotional depth and cheeky humor. When the three musicians re-united last year and began recording their first album in 13 years, fans were abuzz and some even pitched in to help the unsigned BFF to raise funds for the its promotion and release via a PledgeMusic.com project.
The Sound of The Life of The Mind is a return to form in many ways. None of the musicians on Ben Folds' solo records play like Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee. In addition to supplying pitch-perfect backing harmonies to Folds' uniquely sweet lead, the twosome make his songwriting more digestible as rock music by bringing a certain level of potency and backbone to Folds' bordering-on-Bacharach orchestral production embellishments and AC sentimental balladry. Sledge rides the fret like it's guitar, zipping and fuzzing and grinding in challenge to Folds' keywork while Jessee's steady on-point beat-keeping remains easy-going, driving or thunderous as the mood calls. The threesome's chemistry is on full display in attention-grabbing opening track "Erase Me," its unrelenting rock push interspersed with slower lounge breaks that find the Folds falsetto in full effect. Songs like "Michael Praytor, Five Years Later" and the title track most closely resemble old school pop-catchy buoyant BFF with heavy rocking refrains touched by tooth-aching vocal charm. "Draw a Crowd" is the grooving grin-inducer of the set with self-deprecating lines like "I only wanted to be Stevie Wonder, but I got to settle for this vanilla thunder" and a droll refrain ("Ohhh, if you're feeling small and you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall"). But Folds can't help getting maudlin three songs deep with the gently contemplative string-soaring "Sky High," and the set closes on a slow note with "Thank You For Breaking My Heart." His bandmates generally roll with it, which is why The Sound is a great comeback album, if a foreseeable one, as if they picked up right where they left off. (ImaVeePee/Sony)
Critics' Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2012.