Magnolia Thunderpussy

Reviews:

On his last album, Hey You! Yes You!, Ben Lee sounded like he was going out of his mind, just as the cover art, a jigsaw puzzle image of Lee's face being pulled apart, suggested. A scary, emotionally naked album, the sound of a nervous breakdown set to music was only leavened by Lee's evocative melodic gift. Whatever demons Lee was facing, he seems to have licked them. Awake Is the New Sleep is a hopeful, openhearted album of pop songs that float as effortlessly as dandelion seeds on a summer breeze. Lee embraces life and love in all their complexity, and his songs are so bright that you almost have to wear shades to listen to them. "Whatever It Is" opens the album with a simple acoustic guitar figure, a soft background wash of electric twang and an almost Zen-like invocation to "Wake up and do it/ Whatever it is." On "We're All in This Together" Lee echoes the optimism of the lead track with a repeated refrain that slowly builds to a marching tempo and a boisterous choir of friends chanting the hook line like a mantra. Lee's vocals are elegant throughout, vulnerable yet forceful, like a priest slightly tipsy on sacramental wine. In fact, many of these songs sound like secular prayers, invocations for a better world and a more compassionate way of dealing with life, love and each other.