Ben Arnold: Press

Ben Arnold - Calico
Sci Fidelity

Philadelphia’s Ben Arnold has been compared to both Graham Parker and Van Morrison, and rightly so. His voice conveys a gentle, soulful growl; his lyrics are witty but not cloying; and his music draws on rock, folk, R&B and all genres in between. Calico, his finest effort yet, weaves these influences together more seamlessly than ever before. “Pickin’ the Lock” and “Deeper Truth” revel in straight-up, blue-eyed soul—the former riding a Stax-style horn chart and the latter digging deep into a Muscle Shoals groove. “Zig Zag” is pure ear candy topped off by a big ’70s bubblegum chorus that perfectly matches the “get over it” message of the lyrics. But Arnold’s ears aren’t solely attuned to music’s past. In “Blacklight” he rhymes “och de leiber” with “aqua livre” before breakbeat drum loops kick in, as if to drive home the song’s themes of emotional and physical release. His outstanding rhythm section—bassist Scott Bricklin and drummer Matt Muir—distinguishes Arnold’s work from other singer/songwriters mining similar territory. Muir’s playing is delightfully unpredictable, the kind of drummer that catches your ear without ever distracting from the song.

BEN ARNOLD
Calico (Sci-Fidelity)

Throaty-voiced Philadelphia singer-songwriter Ben Arnold has been making records since the early Nineties, including a brief stint on a major label with his 1995 release Almost Speechless, and a Thorns-like side project called 4 Way Street. A music teacher, Arnold says that he worked out some of the material for his latest disc in class with his students. That playful approach is evident, from the Stones-y groove and horn section on "Pickin' the Lock", to the 4/4 thud of "Wilderness" to the mandolin plink over an expressionistic wash of sound on "Sky Was Falling". Arnold's lyrics are just as quick. One moment he?s lamenting the fragility of love on "House of Cards" ("You never know when the walls cave in / Just when you begin to build it up again"), the next he's regarding a "vivid velvet Elvis" illuminated on "Blacklight", and the next he's using string instruments as relationship metaphors ("I cried like a dobro for my lady Gibson") on the banjo-embellished "Bluegrass." It's Arnold's rangy melodies, though, that make Calico a keeper.

BEN ARNOLD
Calico (Sci-Fidelity)

Move over John Mayer. You too, Jack Johnson. There's a new lyrical lad in town. The new laid-back, throaty vocalist sounds like he is here to stay. His simply song structures, free feeling, and congenial, conversational style feel like he's playing right to you. Arnold and his bandmates are like your closest TV sitcom friends who invite you into their homes and lives and include you into their world. Its raw, its bluesy, its soulful, even edgy. Written and contrived in the wee morning hours, Arnold's tunes came out of late night contemplation in his Philadelphia workspace, which he refers to as "the hole." These uncomplicated, blithe, musical etchings are a bit bolder than Mayer and Johnson's extremely chill flavors. Arnold hits his mark without being overly pushy. He relaxingly rocks his way through 13 original tracks that catch you off guard like an old friend you haven't seen in ages. Arnold's playful style will have you merrily tapping along. Whether you are people watching or sitting back on your grungy old chair, Calico will have you tweaking your face into a smirk, just as the album hints at Arnold's glee without being overly cheery.

BEN ARNOLD
Calico (Sci-Fidelity)

Veteran Philly singer-songwriter Ben Arnold probably spent a lot of time making the songs on "Calico" sound as if they didn't require a lot of time to write.

Then again, maybe there were moments when everything came to him swiftly and easily, like a series of happy accidents arriving out of blue. The whimsical arrangement for "Zig Zag," the clever wordplay for "House of Cards," the vivid imagery found on "Bluegrass." Maybe that's it, maybe Arnold is more lucky than talented. Maybe that explains why most of the songs on "Calico" sound so effortlessly constructed and so off-the-cuff entertaining.

There are a lot of lyrics worth quoting here, but perhaps the best illustration of Arnold's appealing songcraft and the album's fundamental optimism is "Pickin' the Lock," a self-flagellating blues with a punch line: "How can you walk with that ball and chain / Kickin' the rock standin' in your way / Just give it a knock and it'll float away / Or try pickin' the lock."

Raspy-voiced Arnold and his bandmates deliver the scolding with Stones-like swagger, but more often than not the moods on "Calico" are playful, yearning or contemplative. Particularly impressive are "Bluegrass," a loping, lovesick ballad that recalls Bob Dylan's hauntingly textured collaborations with producer Daniel Lanois, and "John," a soulful elegy for John Lennon that references his lyrics and incorporates Beatlesque instrumental touches. Other songs seem slight by comparison, but nearly all of them flow smoothly, without a hitch or lull.