ALBUM: Ben Lee – Ripe

If you’re looking for something suitably summery to compensate for the general gloom hanging over the country, you’d do well to crack open the Vimto and stick on Ripe, the sixth album from Aussie Ben Lee.

It’s a great record for chilling out with the sun at home, in the garden or in the car. Ripe’s general theme is one of catchy, melodious songs that are neither offensive nor awesome, sung by a voice that is neither bad nor impressive – comparisons can be made to the vocals of Ben Folds and, at times, to Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. While being a pretty patchy record, there are a few decent songs that (although not ground-breaking or innovative in any way) shouldn’t fail to lift your spirits. The tracks worth listening out for or downloading being American Television, What Would Jay-Z Do? and Sex Without Love.

The main failing of the album is the Holland-like flatness of the sound. The most up-tempo song on the album, Sex Without Love, could perhaps have made more of an impact, but comes across like it’s been recorded using woollen plectrums and breadsticks as drumsticks. However, these few faults are cancelled out by the perfect chirpiness of the songs mentioned above, and Ripe could just be your cup of tea to warm you up in these cold summer days.

Ripe is due to be released on September 18. Buy it here.