The Rebirth of Kharmonious?

Oi, it's been a long time since I wrote an honest review - not to insinuate any of my reviews are less than honest :) suffice it to say it's been some time so please excuse me if I'm a little rusty: I picked up Ben Lee's 7th studio album, The Rebirth of Venus several months ago, right before I drove to Portland to meet Katie. I listened to it a couple times through on the trip there and back on windy Highway 84 and a few times since.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ben Lee, he's a singer-songwriter from Austrailia whose music I'd describe as acoustic-pop-folk. His most recognizable single is "Catch My Disease" from the infectious Awake is the New Sleep (pun intended) - the song appeared in Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs and the film Just Friends - so you've probably heard it somewhere. Like a lot of Ben's music, it's catchy, campy and hokey, all at the same time - and sometimes that's a good thing. Ben isn't afraid to have a crowd of everyday people sing along with him.

The Rebirth of Venus is similar to previous albums, in that it mixes synthetic and acoustic sounds seamlessly (there may be a few more keyboards and mixed sounds this time around, but there still are some great acoustic tracks like "Surrender"). Ben's lyrics usually lean toward sensitive, introspective content, with a positive spin: Ben asks "what's so bad about feeling good?". A few songs on the album have political observations, "Wake Up to America" or social reflections, "Boy With a Barbie" and "I'm a Woman Too". They're completely harmless in that they're not mean-spirited, but some may find them obnoxious. "Blue Denim" sounds like it was written for a Gap jeans commercial, which again speaks to much of Ben's music; it's catchy, but not especially deep which may leave some listeners dissatisfied over the long haul. My picks for the album are "Surrender", "Families Cheating at Boardgames" and "Bad Poetry".

I saw Ben Lee open for Ben Folds a year or so ago, and it was the first time I've ever felt sympathy for a musician on stage: Ben (Lee)'s microphone stand wouldn't stay up and he had to sing his songs standing slouched over the microphone. He sang through several songs before any of the stagehands helped him. He didn't get mad at all and he was still great, but it was incredible to see that even with six studio albums under his belt (he hadn't finished the seventh), he seemed to be a genuinely humble and grateful musician and I admire him for that.

It's also worth noting that the bonus CD version of The Rebirth of Venus includes the track "Ben Lee" which is a song originally performed by the Ataris about how much they hate Ben Lee. Ben Lee isn't above making fun of himself or acknowledging that some people won't like him or his music.

Fave tracks: "Surrender", "Families Cheating at Boardgames" and "Bad Poetry"
RIYL: Ben Kweller, Ben Folds, Kate Nash

Surrender - Ben Lee