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{ True Madness Magazine }
Music Reviews
The Bens, Untitled EP
Attacked By Plastic, 2004
By James Eddy
Holy Supergroup Batman! What started as a joke on differing message boards has become a reality as Ben Folds, Kweller, and Lee unite as an unstoppable trio of pop-rock might, not to mention Benness (new word.) Sadly, as with many groups of this type the final result is less exciting than the actual concept. It's not that the debut EP (and probably only release) from these boys Ben is bad. It's just not as good as it could be, especially with the talent that makes up the record. Combine that with a pretty unfocused collection of songs, and the Bens EP seems to be a collection of musicians in search of a genre rather than an actual release worth getting excited about. Still, if you're a hardcore fan of any of these musicians (and Lord knows each has their own cult following, though Folds takes the cake in that department,) then this really is a pretty neat addition to your collection.
The format of the CD is pretty forward; it begins with a song that the whole band sings together, then one Ben each takes the reins for a song before calling it a night. Exactly what everyone plays on the songs is kind muddled by the dreadfully underwritten linear notes, though it is probably Kweller on the drums, everyone on guitar, Lee on the bass, and Folds on that grand old piano. The first song on the CD is a traditional, folky romp called Just Pretend and really shows the strength the group has as a unit if only they could focus in on one genre. In all reality, Just Pretend is a near perfect country song; the problem is it's the only one of its kind on the record. Next up is Lee's cute, but ultimately too kitschy new wave effort, XFire (pronounced Crossfire. You know, like X-Country.) This is the real dud on the album, though let it be said again that it's not awful. Nothing on the CD is. Next up is Kweller's "Stop!" which sounds like an outtake from his Sha Na Na album. Nothing about it really stands out, except for the bit where everything stops whenever Kweller actually says the word stop. Last up is the Folds song, Bruised. It is a fitting end, seeing how really the whole album is a mentor (Folds) hosting two of the more promising young singer-songwriters (Kweller, Lee.) It's pretty straight forward Folds (much like the Kweller piece,) and reminds his core audience exactly why he has had such staying power. The most touching moment of the album however comes after the music is done. A few seconds after the last chord, one can hear Folds laugh, ask how it was and hear an excited Kweller in the background go "It's fucking great!" Not exactly, Ben. It's just good. Very good actually, but anything less than spectacular is a bit of a disappointment. At the end of the day though, you have ask yourself one question: how much more Ben could this album be? And the answer is none. None more Ben.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
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