Popular for love songs like “Forever Like That” and “White Dress,” Ben Rector has stepped back from the mushy stuff to write an album that says something. With the same thoughtful lyrics and peppy mandolin of his previous albums, “Brand New,” released Aug. 28, is an album that truly shows what Rector has on his heart.
The first song “Make Something Beautiful,” is a short introduction into an album all about how we should be living life. It sounds like a piano blessing over the album, something Rector has made “to remind us there is good in the world.”
“The Men That Drive Me Places,” “Note To Self,” “Like The World Is Going to End” and “30,000 Feet” illustrate life lessons Rector has learned.
In the first, he pays homage to the hardworking men that get him where he needs to be while he receives the recognition with lines like, “You can tell he came from nothin’, built a future out of hustlin’, and somehow I’m the one you people pay to see.”
In “Note to Self” we hear Rector remind himself to “think of other people,” call his mother back and “keep choosing her.” My favorite line from the whole album comes at the end of this song when Rector ultimately reminds himself that, “You don’t find peace until you love somebody else.”
Rector also shares some of his experiences as a musician in “Fear” and “Almost Home.”
“Fear” relays the story of what he has had to overcome to take the chance to become successful. He tells us, “This is a lot for an Oklahoma kid like me.” However, through his experiences he “learns to dance with the fear” that he had “been running from.”
We also get a glimpse into Rector’s everyday life in the song “Crazy,” which he declares as an anthem for people out there whose lives are “crazy normal.” He exposes the glamorized life of the rich and famous for the unrealistic hyperbole that it is and identifies with the everyday listener saying, “You’ve gotta have a job and get some sleep. You do the math.” Appetizers with your friends may be as crazy as your day gets and as far as he is concerned, that is okay.
If you are still a Ben Rector love song fan, there is “Brand New,” “Paris” and “Favorite Song” to get your fix.
Rector finishes out the album with “More Like Love,” a ballad-esque explanation of what he says he has ultimately learned from his life so far. He just “wants to look more like love” because “it’s the one thing around here that we don’t have quite enough of.” I can’t say I disagree Ben.
Ben Rector fans and non-fans alike should listen to “Brand New.” With the same folky sounds and lyrical craftsmanship of his old albums, “Brand New” has turned Ben Rector into an artist that you don’t just want to dance to, you now also want to hear what he has to say.
