Ben Lee – The Rebirth of Venus Review
When I was deciding on what to review this week, I was a little worried about choosing this album. All I’d really heard from Ben Lee before he released this album was ‘Catch My Disease’ and his cover of Modest Mouse’s ‘Float On’. I loved both of them so much that I was afraid that the album would be a letdown in comparison. Keeping this in mind, I’ve done my best to look at The Rebirth of Venus with an open mind.
Ben Lee’s seventh studio album maintains a steady stream of quality pop music. The opening track, ‘What’s So Bad (About Feeling Good),’ sets a laid-back, hedonistic tone. Keyboards and drums set up a bouncy rhythm sure to keep foots tapping. ‘Surrender’ continues with the same easygoing sentiment, urging us to “let it go, give in, give up, surrender.” Lee swaps out the keyboard for a guitar in this one, but his pop sense doesn’t miss a beat, even down to the hand-claps and shout/singing. I dig these first two tracks, and they do an outstanding job of setting a happy-go-lucky feeling for the rest of the album.
The only problem with this album is that Lee strays from his own professions of hedonism, and he gets so caught up in his social and political commentary that it hurts the music. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still great pop songs, but they could be so much better if he was less preoccupied with all the problems of the world. ‘I Love Pop Music’ has one of the catchiest hooks I’ve heard in awhile. It sounds like it should be a fun song. Then he starts…talking. He just starts naming all the political and socioeconomic problems of the world over this awesome hook. There’s nothing wrong with his message, but I mean, come on dude, at least sing.
The album continues this way, with some gems along the way, but with generally too much attention on the lyrical messages. I hear political and social commentary everywhere I turn. I don’t need more of it. Pop music is where I go to just hear some happy tunes that will make me feel good. Really though, what is so bad about feeling good? Parts of this album make me happy, but others just make me feel guilty and annoyed that this social and political commentary has permeated normally happy music. I like the majority of The Rebirth of Venus, but a few songs just get too political for me. I tried not to be too hard on this album because of my unusually high expectations, but I think that would have pissed me off no matter what.
You can check out more of Lee’s stuff on his myspace or website.
Ben Lee – I Love Pop Music
Ben Lee – Surrender
And a little something extra, here’s Lee covering MGMT’s ‘Kids’.
Ben Lee – Kids
Tags: album
