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Ben Brookes - The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon (2017)



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Written by Larry Robertson, posted by blog admin

Ben Brookes’ The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon is one of the richest musical and lyrical experiences in recent memory thanks to a battery of contributions from some of the most respected talents in 20th and 21st century popular music. Greg Healey and Joey Molland of iconic pop rock band Badfinger bring their talents to the table, the former even serving as the album’s producer, and they’re joined by Americans Greg Inhofer on keys and Michael Bland on drums. These are deep tunes with obvious personal meaning for Brookes and he’s clearly engaged with each line but, despite that, Brookes delivers ten easily accessible songs that any listener of any age can connect with. The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon isn’t just power pop, however, and there’s numerous points during the release when a more jagged, electric guitar fueled edge emerges from his songs. It makes for a profoundly satisfying listening experience.

“I Wanna Go Home” is a superb and seemingly light hearted beginning to the album. It’s primarily distinguished by the vocal melody, certainly reminiscent of artists like The Beatles, but there’s an underlying seriousness that contrasts effectively with the playful musical touch. The arrangements on The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon vary from song to song, but one abiding quality they share is their penchant for bringing a variety of balanced parts into clear focus yet never sounding too cluttered. This quality defines the track “Asleep in Galilee” and there’s an accompanying force in the center of the song that seems to sweep listeners along from the outset. It’s adorned, as well, with a fair bit of quasi-Biblical imagery whose rootsy vibe neatly dovetails with his vocal delivery and the bluesy hints percolating to the surface. “Crack a Smile” is one of the album’s most effective ballads and comes off beautifully thanks to a particularly sensitive Brookes vocal.

“Before Sunlight” is an enchanting song thanks to the gorgeous vocal melody and how well the musical arrangement underlines its easy going lyricism. Brookes capitalizes on the excellence of its vocal melody with an emotionally stirring singing performance. The album’s hardest rocking moments comes with the trifecta of “Look Through My Eyes”, “Stories in the Rain”, and “Somewhere Around Eight”. The first two songs are steady mid-tempo tracks and replete with washes of slightly distorted guitar while the final of the three tracks, “Somewhere Around Eight”, stands even more apart thanks to a practically tortured but deeply affecting vocal from Brookes. The immense beauty of this release is driven home as a point for a final time on the last song “Shackles” and the amiable grace of the song, largely acoustic in nature, comes with some striking electric guitar lines that enhance it a lot. The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon may be improbably titled, but there are riches here that will make you soon forget any shallow misgivings you might have. This is a minor wonder in a music world that needs more miracles.
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