Ben Folds but doesn’t break on newest solo album

Ben Folds

Sunny 16

Recommended if you like: piano influenced rock

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Ben Folds

Sunny 16

Recommended if you like: piano influenced rock

Before the 2001 release of his first solo effort, Rockin’ the Suburbs, the music of Ben Folds was characterized by self-loathing, regret and romances gone wrong. With his bandmates in Ben Folds Five, he spoke to a generation of frustrated, confused youngsters with songs that were both tragic, like their hit single “Brick,” and tragically funny, like “Army,” a bouncy song about missed opportunities. His more recent work, like the hilarious title track off his solo album, signals a new stage in the musical career of Folds. While other musicians are still screaming angrily about how their fathers didn’t hug them enough, Folds seems to stare the ever-present Angry White Boy Syndrome in the face, only to promptly smash it into the ivory keys of his piano.

He continues this stage with his new EP Sunny 16, a collection of five songs which highlight his departure from lamenting about the wasted days of his youth to instead focus on lamenting about his newfound, enlightened maturity. Released in September of 2003, Sunny 16 is the second in a series of EPs recorded by Folds. The first, Speed Graphic, was released in July of 2003, while the third EP The Bens was a surprise side project combining the talents of Folds, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee.

The first track, “There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You,” establishes the overall theme for Sunny 16. In it, Folds seems to warn against the downfalls of self-consciousness, begging his audience to stop taking themselves so seriously with lyrics like “I might just get up and dance/or buy some acid wash pants/when you don’t care that you’ve got nothing to lose.” Other tracks, like the reassuring “Learn to Live with What You Are” and “Rock Star” further reinforce this wisdom.

Like many of his albums, Folds rounds off the selections with a slower tune. In this case, he ends Sunny 16 with the soothing “Love Songs,” a sweet, flowing tribute to those who are in the awkward, never ending pursuit of a mate, while “his type hibernate/in bedrooms above/composing songs of love.”

Some listeners, however, may find that the style of the music comes off as preachy, especially the track “All U Can Eat.” The song is a rare moment of criticism, humbling the excessive, SUV-driving population with lyrics like “Wouldn’t you like to see them in the National Geographic/squatting bare assed in the dirt eating rice from a bowl.”

Overall, Sunny 16 is still just more proof of Folds’ success as a composer and musician. Plus, with a new album rumored to come this year and concert tours with fellow musicians Kweller, Lee and Tori Amos, embarking on a solo career may be the one thing he doesn’t have to lament over.