Ben Folds’ unusual lyrics and piano playing is back with his new album “Way to Normal.” The album effectively proves worthy of the anticipation that preceded it, with a hit every other song.







Folds upped the piano skills in this album, and picked it up in tempo as well. Throughout the first four tracks, it works well. He fills the middle well, and works the space with a duet “You Don’t Know Me,” which features Regina Spektor. It stays generally light-hearted, despite the clear red “EXPLICIT” next to all of the songs.

“Errant Dog” and “Free Coffee” kind of popped up out of nowhere, and don’t fit in with the rest of the creative tracks. Yeah, it’s creative, but no one wants to listen to static underneath an entire three minutes worth of good music.





His previous album, “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” is a close comparison, but not so much that the new stuff gets boring. The lyrics, although in Folds’ recognizable style, are fresh. After I suffered slightly through the static, I was rewarded with clever lyrics from “Brainwascht”: “If you gotta write an essay, do your research / Stick your nose in a boy and girl fight, hear both sides first / There's something wrong being copied in a memo / in the form of a big ugly demo.”





Along with “Way to Normal” Folds helped produce Amanda Palmer’s solo album, “Who Killed Amanda Palmer?” and he is featured in both voice and piano duets. The two crazy songwriters definitely work well together. Palmer’s solo album came out Sept. 19, but this doesn’t mean she has quit her band the Dresden Dolls. “Way to Normal” is satisfying to the ears and those with an appreciation for wittiness and the occasional explicit word or two.