What Matters Most [B&N Exclusive] [Color Vinyl LP+CD With Bonus Tracks] in Bloomington, MN

After a hit
Ben Folds Five
reunion album in 2012 and a companion live LP the next year,
Ben Folds
seemed to seek routes away from, or merely adjacent to, his trademark piano pop/rock. He composed a piano concerto that accompanied pop songs backed by a chamber ensemble on 2015's
So There
, recorded a live album with the
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
, took a position as artistic advisor for the
National Symphony Orchestra
at Kennedy Center, worked as a producer, published a memoir, started a podcast about the creative process, and found work as an actor on Amazon Prime's The Wilds before finally making his return to piano pop in 2022 with a soundtrack theme ("It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown"). Arriving a year later,
What Matters Most
is his first nonclassical solo album since 2008's
Way to Normal
. Largely provoked by current events,
offers
Folds
' typical mix of earnest and sardonic songs, but with perhaps a little more indignation behind them. Recorded in East Nashville with producer
Joe Pisapia
(
Guster
), its many guests include singers
Dodie
and
Ruby Amanfu
, indie folk duo
Tall Heights
, and a list of horn and string players, although these are pop-band songs, only some of which are fleshed out. Among the more sincere entries here is the confrontational piano waltz "Fragile," which calls out hypocrisy ("Something so fragile about you/It's how you get away with what you do") and features one of the string arrangements by
Rob Moose
. Also in that category are more triplet-metered tracks such as "Clouds with Ellipses," which features animated piano arpeggiation and a "choir of Dodies" as part of its graceful arrangement, and a wistful title track that notes, "In these days of overwhelming change, I just want to know what I want." In sharp contrast to these are playful takedowns including the hip-hop-tinged "Exhausting Lover" ("Every kiss is a jam band solo/Never gonna say YOLO no mo'") and the faux-ode "Kristine from the 7th Grade," about alienating social media posts. Elsewhere, the theatrical harmony vocal-keyboard ditty "But Wait, There's More" strikes a tonal balance with its reflections on the time's relentless sociopolitical turmoil ("Pray that there's a bottom somewhere in sight/Brothers and sisters hold tight"). While this mix of vulnerability, anxiety, and resentment can feel uneven,
' melodies are engaging as ever, and he finds balance again on highlights like "Moments" (featuring
) and the pandemic-isolation-themed "Winslow Gardens."
is also tied together with a consistent underlying sense of dread. With its brushed snare, simmering piano, and tender vocal delivery, the elegant "Moments" closes the album with a call for optimism, even in absence of reason. ~ Marcy Donelson