Ben Garves

So… what’s better than pulling a fat check out of my mailbox?

Finding the check AND Ben Garves’ newly released EP, “LOVE.”

After listening to the five tracks a few times, it was clear that Garves put a lot of thought into what he was trying to bring across to listeners. Relationships. Falling in and out of love (whatever that may be). Waking up and realizing you’re not who you used to be, whether that is due to your experiences alone or with someone else.

The artist summed it up. “Simple,” he said, while describing the themes in the album.
Well “LOVE” pretty much sums it up too: life’s tough, but love’s tougher.

I was most impressed with the third track, “In The Mirror.”

“Our character wakes up the next morning and is looking at himself in the mirror,” Garves said, “trying to decide if he hates the man staring back at him.”

Hello, is that deep or what? I wake up in the morning, staring in the mirror, trying to decide if I need to wear makeup. Garves’ album differs from those his successors and a lot of mainstream artists because he’s not scared of strobing the worst of the worst in people—when they’re at their lowest—and just talking about it.

I like, I like.

Something I had a hard time adjusting to, however, were the beats. They’re very in your face. Starting with “Fight,” listeners are bombarded with piano chords. Drums quickly follow, along with vocals.

The beats never conflicted in terms of tempo and progression, but I noticed that there was a lot going on. Without deliberately paying attention to the lyrics, I found myself hearing more of Garves’ beats than Garves’ melodic, angelic voice.

There was definitely a lot of progression throughout the EP, though; as a listener, I appreciated that. The development from track to track shows how Garves grows. I’m looking forward to hearing his work in the future.

"My next solo album has a working title, 'Benjamixture,' Garves said. "It will be focusing on a multitude of social issues and it will be me focusing more on root-of-hip-hop music and less pop, like 'Love.'"

Want a listen? Visit Garves’ MySpace page or official website. - thechoochoos.blogspot.com