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| Ben
Lee, Awake is the New Sleep |
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| REVIEWED
BY JASON GLADU, POSTED ON JUNE 29,
2006 |
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On his fifth
full-length, Awake is the New Sleep, Lee keeps to what
he does best and that's writing quirky, acoustic pop music with a little bit
of keyboards and a whole lot of yearning. Awake is Lee's post-break-up
record (he got dumped by famed actress Clare Danes) and tracks like "Begin"
and the title track all centre around the idea that there's more to life than
chasing some girl. Some critics have been quite cynical in reviewing Awake,
claiming that it sounds like his older work, but in fact Lee hasn't sounded
this confident since 1999's Breathing Tornadoes. The proof of Lee's
revival can be found on key tracks like the for-sure summer hit "Catch
My Disease," "Into
the Dark" (which features the album's theme in one lyric "Feeling
better since I surrendered, you can't climb till your ready to fall") and
the (most surprising) nine-minute sax freak-out "Light." Lee reminds
me of other great songwriters like Ron Sexsmith or Hayden and, like those artists,
he has the ability to create songs that are bare, honest and sincere. It also
helps that Awake is
oozing with upbeat melodies and warm sing a-long poetry made perfect for pop
radio. (New West Records)  |
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