Ripe
Label: New West
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Ripe
Ben Lee is a youthful popster of 28 who sings in a clear, earnest tone about everyday love and pop culture in a likable way. ‘Likableâ?� only crosses over to cloying and obnoxious when he repeats his choruses to the point where it feels like a hammer to the head (‘American Televisionâ?�) or when the sound slickens up just enough to lose its fangs (‘Sex Without Loveâ?�). Too many inconsequential guests show up: Members of Rooney and Good Charlotte could just as well be anybody, while the duet with Mandy Moore on ‘Birds and Beesâ?� skirts that cutesy novelty area that’s made it legal to smack Jonathan Richman around. The too-bouncy piano pop of ‘Numbâ?� and the lyrically precious ‘What Would Jay-Z Do?â?� further tip the balance unfavorably. However, the bare-bones sound of the acoustic closer, ‘Ripe,â?� and the full-blown pop of ‘Love Me Like the World Is Endingâ?� prove Lee could survive without the gimmicks and the extra sugar.
This article appears in Sep 5-11, 2007.