ALTERNATIVE/INDIE

What Matters Most
By Ben Folds

The fifth studio album by American singer and songwriter Ben Folds, What Matters Most comes after an eight-year hiatus and is released via New West Records; his last, So There launched in 2015. The wait, however, has been worth it. The artist calls this his most ‘true’ album, one that he couldn’t have made at any other point in his career in terms of the music, lyrics and underlying emotions.

The LP offers musical variety with the synth prelude on But Wait, There’s More, which continues to the end, as well as the horns; the brief but heart-arresting harmonica set on Back to Anonymous; the drum backdrop that runs throughout Paddleboat Breakup; the urgent stringsy tunes of the acoustic guitar on Moments…

The melodious Winslow Gardens released earlier this year and has a bittersweet nostalgic vibe. In fact, nostalgia is the common overarching theme and its many nuances and layers appear across the board.

The title track is sure to strike a chord with most as it explores the common emotions connected with missing friends, reminiscing on old times while ‘sorting through photos’ and picking up the phone to share news with a close one, only to realise they’re gone.

ALTERNATIVE/INDIE

I’ve Loved You For So Long
By The Aces

The Aces are a four-member American alternative pop band. I’ve Loved You For So Long is their third LP released via Red Bull Records. The songs give off your typical teen-girl-in-love vibe but in a good way.

The title track is hummable, especially the catchy ‘Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo’ bit. The drums in the background add a poprock element without taking away from the softness of the song, considering it deals with the delicate emotion of love, of being reunited with a lover, ‘taking her back to where it all started’.

Girls Make Me Wanna Die is fast-paced, more stringsy with forceful bass, and deals with the angst of unrequited young love. The album explores love and its many facets; break-ups, for instance, as on Not The Same.

Suburban Blues starts off with a power-packed electric guitar set, which reappears throughout the track. It lends a certain impatient quality, a frustration of sorts, which is reflected in the lyrics too; it’s about feeling trapped in a small town with people who don’t understand you, going about their lives. One wonders if there’s a figurative meaning – sometimes, love can feel that way too. Stop Feeling hits different, having an almost psychedelic quality that’s achieved with a kind of echoing effect using drum beats and piano tunes.