Album review: Ben Folds and Nick Hornby, 'Lonely Avenue'
2 stars (out of 4)
Mutual fans Nick Hornby and Ben Folds collaborate on an album of pop songs, with author Hornby writing the lyrics and the piano-playing Folds taking care of the music. The 11 sets of words Hornby contributes to “Lonely Avenue” (Nonesuch) read more like short stories rather than rhymed lyrics. The writer addresses everything from Bristol Palin’s ex-fiance (“Levi Johnston’s Blues”) to un-neighborly neighbors (“Your Dogs”) with typical intelligence and wit, but not a great deal of emotional punch. His melancholy domestic snapshots are stronger: a child caught between warring parents behaving childishly (“Claire’s Ninth”) and would-be soulmates who never actually connect (“From Above”).
It’s up to Folds to turn these tales into music, and he does a decent job, with help from string arranger Paul Buckmaster. The pianist has a malleable voice, capable of swinging from poignance to sarcasm, though sometimes Hornby’s dense wordplay can’t help but sound awkward in making the transition from the page to the speakers. “Lonely Avenue” works best when Folds pares back; the piano-and-strings arrangement for “Picture Window” is a bittersweet keeper. But too often the overly fussy mix of jaunty pop and florid balladry swallows the delicate emotions.
greg@gregkot.com
Mutual fans Nick Hornby and Ben Folds collaborate on an album of pop songs, with author Hornby writing the lyrics and the piano-playing Folds taking care of the music. The 11 sets of words Hornby contributes to “Lonely Avenue” (Nonesuch) read more like short stories rather than rhymed lyrics. The writer addresses everything from Bristol Palin’s ex-fiance (“Levi Johnston’s Blues”) to un-neighborly neighbors (“Your Dogs”) with typical intelligence and wit, but not a great deal of emotional punch. His melancholy domestic snapshots are stronger: a child caught between warring parents behaving childishly (“Claire’s Ninth”) and would-be soulmates who never actually connect (“From Above”).
It’s up to Folds to turn these tales into music, and he does a decent job, with help from string arranger Paul Buckmaster. The pianist has a malleable voice, capable of swinging from poignance to sarcasm, though sometimes Hornby’s dense wordplay can’t help but sound awkward in making the transition from the page to the speakers. “Lonely Avenue” works best when Folds pares back; the piano-and-strings arrangement for “Picture Window” is a bittersweet keeper. But too often the overly fussy mix of jaunty pop and florid balladry swallows the delicate emotions.
greg@gregkot.com