Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Outside of a decent yet forgettable, one-off new track that appeared on Ben Folds' 2011 Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective compilation, it's been an awfully long time since the Ben Folds Five have graced listeners with a full-on dose of their signature blend of nostalgia and snark. Sound of the Life of the Mind, the trio's fourth studio album pretty much picks right up where 1999's Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner left off. Anchored by the instantly familiar interplay between Robert Sledge's distorted bass, Folds' percussive yet always melodic piano, and Darren Jessee's meaty yet always lyrical drum work, the first two cuts -- the funereal, art-punk-infused "Erase Me" and the retro-pop gem "Michael Praytor, Five Years Later," the latter of which sounds like it was egregiously left off of Jellyfish's Spilt Milk -- sound like they arrived via wormhole. The band has always been at its best when allowed the freedom to run around and kick stuff, and those tracks, along with the frenzied "Do It Anyway" and the propulsive title cut, which was co-written with Lonely Avenue collaborator Nick Hornby, are right in the band's wheelhouse, but Folds' has made a name for himself as a proper AOR balladeer since the group's demise, and the Sound of the Life of the Mind reflects that change, allowing for a ballad-to-rocker ratio that slightly favors the former. Of those slower numbers, the lovely and unguarded "Away When You Were Here" packs the most punch, but it feels like something off of Songs for Silverman rather than Whatever and Ever Amen, and like the pretty yet forgettable "Sky High," it kills the momentum that was so skillfully applied before it. That said, sarcastic, sweet, subversive, geeky, and awkward are hard vibes to juggle, but Folds, Sledge, and Jessee manage more times than not to keep all of the pins in the air, which after more than a decade apart, is pretty remarkable.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Composer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Lyricist - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Nick Hornby, Lyricist - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Paul Buckmaster, Arranger - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Ben Folds, Arranger - Ben Folds, Composer - Ben Folds, Keyboards - Ben Folds, Lyricist - Ben Folds, Piano - Ben Folds, Producer - Ben Folds, Vocal - Ben Folds Five, Performer - Darren Jessee, Drums - Darren Jessee, Percussion - Darren Jessee, Vocal - Joe Costa, Mixing Engineer - Joe Costa, Recording Engineer - Joe Pisapia, Producer - Leslie Richter, Engineer - Robert Sledge, Bass - Robert Sledge, Vocal
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Outside of a decent yet forgettable, one-off new track that appeared on Ben Folds' 2011 Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective compilation, it's been an awfully long time since the Ben Folds Five have graced listeners with a full-on dose of their signature blend of nostalgia and snark. Sound of the Life of the Mind, the trio's fourth studio album pretty much picks right up where 1999's Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner left off. Anchored by the instantly familiar interplay between Robert Sledge's distorted bass, Folds' percussive yet always melodic piano, and Darren Jessee's meaty yet always lyrical drum work, the first two cuts -- the funereal, art-punk-infused "Erase Me" and the retro-pop gem "Michael Praytor, Five Years Later," the latter of which sounds like it was egregiously left off of Jellyfish's Spilt Milk -- sound like they arrived via wormhole. The band has always been at its best when allowed the freedom to run around and kick stuff, and those tracks, along with the frenzied "Do It Anyway" and the propulsive title cut, which was co-written with Lonely Avenue collaborator Nick Hornby, are right in the band's wheelhouse, but Folds' has made a name for himself as a proper AOR balladeer since the group's demise, and the Sound of the Life of the Mind reflects that change, allowing for a ballad-to-rocker ratio that slightly favors the former. Of those slower numbers, the lovely and unguarded "Away When You Were Here" packs the most punch, but it feels like something off of Songs for Silverman rather than Whatever and Ever Amen, and like the pretty yet forgettable "Sky High," it kills the momentum that was so skillfully applied before it. That said, sarcastic, sweet, subversive, geeky, and awkward are hard vibes to juggle, but Folds, Sledge, and Jessee manage more times than not to keep all of the pins in the air, which after more than a decade apart, is pretty remarkable.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:44:22
- Main artists: Ben Folds Five
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: ImaVeePee Records - Sony Music
- Genre: Pop/Rock
(P) 2012 Ben Folds / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.