Ben Rector “Brand New”

0 3 min 9 yrs

Ben Rector is described as a “DIY (do it yourself) musician” who is also skilled with the guitar and keyboard. Ben’s new album Brand New has a little bit of everything for everybody, and it also shows Ben’s sense of humor (Crazy) and his ability to enjoy life as though no one is watching (Like the World is Going to End).  So let’s turn on Ben’s “brand new” album and have an awesome time, shall we?

Let’s begin with the first track Something Beautiful. Ben’s sweet and thoughtful plea that he make “something beautiful/thing that reminds us that there’s good in the world” is heartfelt. The sincerity of the song itself and the accompanying strings and piano make you want to reach out and embrace him. The title track Brand New has us embracing a wonderful and new attitude about life. Paris is a sweet and straight from the heart love song. It’s true love at its absolute finest.

In Favorite Song, Ben is singing a serenade to his lady love, but he also gives a shout out to some of the musicians and hit songs we all know and love, such as Stevie Wonder and Bon Jovi. The Men That Drive Me Places is inspirational and shows you what a man will do for his family and the pride he has in them. Fear teach us that we can stare our fears in the face. Note to Self is a series of personal reminders. “Like the World is Going to End” shows Ben enjoying life and not giving a care what the world has to say.

Crazy has Ben expressing his sense of humor through song and showing that he can have an amazing time. Almost Home is beautiful and catchy. 30,000 Feet looks at life in retrospect through a conversation with a stranger. And finally, we have More Like Love. This beautiful piano-string accompanied masterpiece will tug at your heartstrings and make you feel so many emotions all at once.

Wow, this album is outstanding. Each track tells a story from Ben’s perspective and makes us feel as if we’re there in the middle of it all. Brand New shows us how amazing life can be through Ben’s eyes. As Brand New has shown us, it is truly wonderful.

Final Grade: A

About The Author

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Lauren Beverly

Music Reviewer

I love to write and have been doing so since the age of eight. Fictional stories have always been a favorite of mine, because it gives me a chance to be creative and to express myself in a multitude of ways. On more than one occasion, a song proved to be the inspiration to several stories I have written. Believe it or not, some of those songs were on soundtracks! That’s mostly what I listen to, aside from hits from the 1950’s up to the 1980’s. I’ve learned that anything can be the inspiration to a story, even a poster from the 1990’s or a DVD cover.

I’ve lived in Upper Marlboro all of my life and spent much of my childhood watching cartoons of all kinds, and listening to my older sister’s cassette tapes. Growing up, I listened to everything Jackson related, Paula Abdul, Elton John, and even the controversial group Milli Vanilli. As a teenager, I continued to listen to old-school hits and that was pretty much all I liked, aside from listening to all of Michael Jackson’s music. To this day, I still love old-school hits. That hasn’t changed.

I own a variety of CDs from artists such as Styx, The BeeGees, Michael Jackson, Queen, The Yellow Submarine Soundtrack, and many others. When a soundtrack comes out, there will always be one specific song from that album that I’ll love. It never fails.

I’ve graduated from Bowie State University in December 2013 with a B.A. degree in English.

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