Something Too Familiar About Ben Rector's "Brand New"

Level with me blog buddies. Do you want a solid, vanilla ice cream agreeable song to get you through the bike ride you're contemplating? Today is your lucky day then. Allow me to introduce you to Ben Rector who I commend for having the audacity to call his opening greeting to the world "Brand New" when, truth be told, there isn't a lot brand new about it when you break it down to its molecular level. Lyrically we're transported back to our teenage glory years when taking chances didn't automatically make us think, "What about our retirement money? Shouldn't we be saving for a rainy day?" New sunglasses, jeans that fit your body perfectly, windows rolled down, the earmarks of a nicely spent youth. Prepare to dab your eyes in dewy nostalgia as the imagery rolls across your cerebellum. You'd swear Ben stole the chorus sections from Bastille since they're similarly orchestrated, plenty of horsepower, each man knowing his cue. You'll need a PowerBar or three to keep up with the brisk gallop "Brand New" operates at. The drumming here can coax even the most jaded music maven into fits of spontaneous activity. So spirited and yes, in its own relentless way, life affirming. I, like most of you, are just getting to know this Nashville denizen so I can't speak to his personality but if this song is anything like said personality you'll likely be shaking your head wondering why you just wasted this segment of your life on him. "Brand New" isn't a disagreeable chap. It simply isn't doing anything other than spraying wistful nostalgia into the ozone, hoping there's an audience ought there ready, willing, and able to breathe it in. You know the wise suggestion "Dance like no one's watching?" Ben didn't forget to pack that into his kit bag in the form of "Like when I close my eyes and don't even care if anybody sees me dancing." As a bonus he throws in cultural name dropping like "I feel like a young John Cusack, like making big mistakes." As a fan of the thespian's "High Fidelity (set in a record store so, yeah, I'm all over it) I appreciate the show of respect. So, what I guess I've concluded is "Brand New" possesses shades of the novel in spurts on the lyric sheet but that it's not novel enough to explain why brand loyalty to Ben Wear is warranted. As a full time music lover I'm fond of witnessing new talent making its way through the pipeline. Frankly, it's the only aspect of change in our perpetually changing world that doesn't intimidate me. As long as there's new music to listen to I can dig deep to find optimism. Unfortunately "Brand New" flat out retreads hollowed grounds of youthful longing that, while no less poignant,lack something in the originality department.