Rating: No 

Can Ben Lee ever live up to the promise of his first CD, Grandpaw Would? Seems unlikely. His follow-up, Something to Remember Me By, was a drowsy flop, as if Lee forgot how to write the clever, hook-laden pop tunes that made his first album so unpretentiously fun. With Breathing Tornados, we see the briefest glimpse of the potential the young Australian bore when he was singing about the Pixies and harmonizing with Liz Phair. This time around, Lee has slicked up his sound even further than on his dreadful second album. See him lunge for a hit with the infectious "Cigarettes Will Kill You." Watch him grab for hooks on "Nothing Much Happens." Gasp as he gracefully balances on the tightrope between folk and pop on "Birthday Song." While there are peeks of brilliance here and there, Breathing Tornados is overshadowed by overly produced tracks, like the pseudo-trippy "I Am A Sunflower" and the electro-retro "Nighttime." Yeah, it sounds good, but it's also entirely forgettable. The beauty of Grandpaw Would was its simplicity, its homemade feel, its unmistakable honesty, its absolute deification of pure songwriting -- it captured every bit of the boy's essence like a well-drawn character from a movie that changed your life. I fear Lee will never be able to replicate the "gee whiz" quality of that first album, released in 1995 when he was only 16. Did maturity and the music biz scrape away the gentle honesty of his interpersonal songwriting style? Or are we all merely doomed to losing our innocent vision when we grow up?

(back to)

Originally published in The Reader July 1, 1999. Copyright © 1999 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.