Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman

Ben Folds
Songs For Silverman "The old bastard left his ties and a suit…Pretty soon you'll be an old bastard too." Well, an album can't start out much better than that. Unfortunately "Bastard," much like the the rest of Songs for Silverman, Ben Folds' second full album since the Ben Folds Five disbanded, can't quite hold the momentum. It's often hit and miss with Ben Folds. It seems like every-other record he puts out is good. The Unauthorized Biography was a dud, Rockin the Suburbs was a classic and Songs for Silverman struggles. The album alternates between beautiful quiet numbers like "Jesusland" (the records' best track) and b-side worthy 70s throwback numbers like "Give Judy My Notice" and "Sentimental Guy" that I swear I heard on that Sesame Street skit where the little boy learns to brush his teeth. The album is void of any solid upbeat tracks and all of the good soft tracks ("Trusted," "Late") seem to be sandwiched between songs better skipped over. My money's on Ben's next album being a knockout.