Album Review: Ben Folds Five - The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind

On the very first note of Erase Me, the alternately plodding, angst-ridden and mournful opener on Ben Folds Five's first LP in 13 years, it's clear that The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind lives and dies by that crucial third word in the artist name. The “Five” (in reality a three – Folds plus drummer Darren Jessee and bassist Robert Sledge) have always carried an ebullient, instrumentally playful edge that's generally lacking in so much of Folds' solo work.

From the second Sledge's signature distorted bass, underscored by Jessee's thundering drums, dominates the soundscape at Erase Me's commencement, it's hard to escape the fact that Sledge and Jessee really are the heart of this band. It's evident all the way through: in their back-up harmonies (sublime in Michael Praytor, Five Years Later, Draw A Crowd and the Nick Hornby-penned highlight of a title track) and in their fills and their lines, both imbuing Folds' now-seasoned pop sensibility with an underpinning imagination that one fears he was losing pretty quickly in solo-town.

Lyrically, Folds is as sharp as ever, but his years as a straight-up pop songwriter have taken a toll: the final third or so of the album rests heavily on strings-n'-all balladry, but it's done so well – and it's been so long – that it actually comes off as sweet (especially the paternal Away When You Were Here) as opposed to totally contrived. Sure, there are weaker moments, almost sterile in their cleanliness, but overall there shouldn't be a single fan of the Five out there who isn't satisfied by this generally triumphant return to group therapy.