Ben Folds - "Way to Normal" CD Review

Ben Folds is definitely not on his way to “normal.” After a creative and prolific career, the musician continues to deliver songs with catchy rhythms and innovative lyrics. His latest album, Wayto Normal (2008), doesn’t fail to deliver. Containing songs that are both sarcastic and tranquil, Ben Folds’ fans and first-time listeners will not be disappointed.

The album kicks off with the song “Hiroshima,” a powerful tune with a strong beat depicting a moment of one of Folds’ live performances, in which he fell off the stage. As with many of Folds’ lyrics, you don’t realize they contain humor and irony until you take a closer look at them.

There seems to be a Japanese influence on Way to Normal, showcased in the titles of songs “Hiroshima” and “Dr Yang.” Also, in the end of “Free Coffee,” Folds takes on a Japanese-like accent to explain the failure of relationships. He begins with “The answer you seek my son only poses more questions,” using the stereotypical complexity of many Japanese “lessons.”

Way to Normal also features Folds’ softer side, well maybe not in lyrics. Songs such as “Cologne,” “Kylie from Connecticut,” and “Before Cologne” are soft, relaxing melodies, but with words that are a bit more scathing. Both portray the end of a relationship, something that Folds is familiar with after three divorces. “Cologne” even offers a humorous reference to Lisa Nowak in the lyrics “Says here an astronaut/Put on apair of diapers/drove eighteen hours/to kill her boyfriend/ and in my hotelroom, I’m wondering/If you read that story too?”

Relationship problems are not uncommon to Folds. Relationship troubles and endings are evident in songs like “You Don’t Know Me” and “The Frown Song” and, well, nearly every song on the album. But not to worry, the songs are not going to remind you of Fall Out Boy or other sullen emo bands of that nature. Instead, a track like “You Don’t Know Me” is an up-tempo duet with Regina Spektor, and quite possibly the standout song on the record. It blends elements of both Spektor’s dreamy, sweet-sounding style and Folds’ smart lyrics and beats. The magic of the song rests in the way that Spektor and Folds’ voices layer each other.

Profanity and sarcasm seem to be Folds’ forte. His song “Effington” gives a look at small-town life rife with boredom and confinement. Playing on the names of the town Effington, by saying f’ing a lot, and the town named "Normal." This song could be where the album’s title is derived from because Folds’ mentions “Making my way to normal” a few times on the track. Those who come from a small town will understand exactly what he means. It’s not uncommon for Folds to write, or rather complain, about the suburbs, which is mainly why Folds is placed in the “Angry Pop”category. The song “Bitch Went Nuts” is a funny take on the way in which women react to a breakup, such as stabbing his basketball. The story behind this song is that when a relationship fails women can come up with many reasons for its failure, but men simply state that “the bitch went nuts”.

Way to Normal offers good tunes and even better lyrics. If you’re a Ben Folds fan, the album is definitely worth checking out, and even if you’ve never listened to Ben Folds before, the artist’s latest record is sure to convince you to become a fan.